Home is where your best friend is
by ninjaturtle
Summary: After three years, Mac is fed up with her life in LA and decides to head back home...to her best friend in the world. A shippery story about love, friendship and a very cute two-year-old
1. Back to DC

Chapter 1 

Summary: After three years, Mac is fed up with her life in LA and decides to head back home...to her best friend in the world. H/M shipper

Spoilers: *shrugs* I dunno. Lets just say that its all pre-boomerang and Brumby never happened. He came, he went, he didn't pursue Mac.

Disclaimer: Don't own them, never have, never will. On second thoughts...yeah, I do own them. Wanna make something of it?

Rating: PG-13

Tuesday, 1900 local 

Casey residence

Los Angeles

****

"Night-night, mummy" said Alison Casey, kissing her mother goodnight.

"Night, pumpkin. Sleep tight." her mother replied, kissing her on the forehead. 

Alison was two and a half years old. She had the most beautiful dark auburn ringlets that fell just past her shoulders one glance at her and her mother left no doubt as to her being her daughter. As well has the hair colour, she had her mother's liquid chocolaty brown eyes, only hers were covered by a pair of oval shaped pinkish-red glasses. 

"Now remember, munchkin. You stay in here, and don't leave the room unless you really have to, okay? Now have you been to the toilet and filled up your water cup?" 

The little girl nodded her head in confirmation, not questioning her mother's orders to not leave the room. This was normal as far as she was concerned, and she loved her mother very much and did what she said.

Her mother smiled "Good girl. Night Sweetheart. I love you."

"I love you too, mama"

She turned off the overhead light switched on the nightlight and left the room, shutting the door behind her. 

Sarah Mackenzie-Casey stood outside the door of her little girl's room and leaned back against the wall, sighing. She was such a good kid and she didn't deserve a lot of the stuff she went through. The reason she didn't like her leaving her room at night was because if she did, she might run into Robert Casey, her husband, who often came home highly drunk. 

Her husband was an alcoholic who reminded her of her father every time she saw him. True, she had loved him when she had married him, but back then it had all been very different. He had been nice, charming, romantic, everything a woman wants in a man. But when they had gotten married he had insisted they move to LA, where he had grown up. She had been reluctant but had eventually agreed and they had moved, and she had had to leave all her friends, not to mention her best friend, behind. She had transferred temporarily to help out a civilian lawyers office in LA and when Ali had been born she had asked to be stationed there permanently. She also requested to be kept out of fieldwork for the Marines so that she could look after her child. Soon after they had moved Rob had started changing. He not only drank in front of her, but got drunk in front of her. It went downhill from there. By the time Ali was born he was getting drunk almost every night and had started threatening her and getting verbally abusive. She had thought about leaving but he threatened her frequently and she knew that if she left, then she would have to take her daughter with her and she didn't want to move Ali around when she was doing so well at preschool. She loved it there and Mac didn't want to upset her by suddenly moving her away from everything that was familiar to her. 

Mac headed into the kitchen and got herself a small apple to munch on while she was waiting for Robert to arrive home. His dinner was sitting on the table with a cloth over it, stopping it from going cold. She had just finished her apple when she heard the sound that she no longer looked forward to; the lock being turned in the door. Robert Casey was home.

Robert Casey unlocked the door and entered the house. He walked through into the kitchen and found his wife waiting for him with his dinner on the table. 

"Hello, Rob. How was your day?"

Why does she always have to be so damn nosy? He wondered to himself before answering: 

"None of your business, you lazy lay-about."

Her face was impassive and she took the insult without flinching. The marine in her wanted to knock him down, but she knew that if she did so then it would only lead to a screaming match and that would serve to do nothing except upset her daughter. 

Rob was sick of the stoic attitude she had adopted lately. Any insults he hurled at her seemed to roll right off her and it annoyed him that he couldn't even get a reaction out of her. Sometimes he wondered why he didn't just divorce her. _But _He reasoned with himself _if she wasn't here then I would have no one to indulge myself in at the end of the day. And goodness knows I would have trouble finding someone else with such a body. Might as well keep her around. If only she hadn't had that annoying kid.. I mean, she's cute and all, but she just gets in the way all the time. I never knew a kid could be so much trouble._

When Ali was first born, Mac had not been sleeping with Rob but had stayed on a mattress by the floor of her Ali's cot (A/N: a crib for you those of you who don't speak Australian) so that she would be near her if sheneeded to be fed. Even though Ali was now two, she often got scared at night and for the last year Mac had slept in the room with her on the second single bed she had eventually set up in there. Plus it was a good excuse to get away from her husband at night. The less time she spent with him the happier she was.

Rob finished his dinner and picked up the bills that were on the side of the table. He wouldn't allow her to touch the bills as he believed that as a woman she was incapable of looking after it herself. He read through the electricity bill, the water bill and then got to the phone bill. He looked at it carefully before turning to Mac.

"Sarah, why is there a distance call to DC to the same number every single week?"

"The same reason there has been one each week for the last three years, Rob. My friends live in DC and every week I make a call to my best friend." 

"Yeah, well, I want you to stop these calls. They're costing me a fortune."

This made Mac really angry. He was saying that her phone calls were costing him, when he wasted all his money on alcohol. And aside from that, her weekly phone calls to Harm and her daughter were what kept her sane. Literally. If she couldn't call him then she didn't know what she would do. He listened to her without judging her and although he had told her many times that she should leave, he didn't pressure her about it and actually understood her reasons for staying. He was always there to talk to and despite the fact the Rob hadn't allowed her to go down and visit once in the three years she had been living in LA, they were still best friends and kept up with what was happening in the other one's life. The only time she had seen him was the time when she had to sort out a client who had moved to DC and had volunteered to be the one to fly down. Not just volunteered, begged. Harm was the only one who knew about how Rob treated her and he had sworn to not tell anyone. If she couldn't call him and pour out everything she was feeling to him, then she figured that she would probably crack and end up drinking again.

"No" 

"No? No what?"

"No, I am _not_ going to stop calling my best friend. I only call him once a week."

"Him?"

"Yes, him. 'Him' is just a friend, my best friend in fact. And I haven't seen him in three years. The least I can do is call him."

"So you've kept up your contact with that Rabb person, have you?"

"Yes. If you moved away from your best friend you'd call them too."

"Maybe. And you're saying that you've called him every single week since we got here."

"Yes. Do you have a problem with that. He was my best friend when I was in DC and he is still my best friend now."

"I thought that you were just going to forget him when we left. That's one of the reasons why we _did_ leave" He added under his breath.

"Excuse me? You wanted to leave just so that you could separate me from my best friend? And did you really think that by separating us you could make me forget him? Our friendship is way too strong for that, and you should know it."

"Yeah, your _friendship_. Of course that's all it is, isn't it? Just friendship." He said nastily. 

She hated it when he was like this. He wasn't just a drunk, he was a mean drunk..._just like me_ she thought sadly. 

"Are you implying that there was something else going on between myself and Harm?" 

"Of course I am." He spat out. "I mean, we were engaged and you spent all your time around eating pizza and doing who knows what at his place."

"Well he was my partner. Most of those nights we were working on cases."

"Yeah, _partner._ And _most_ of those nights? What were you doing the other nights, huh?"

"Spending time with my best friend."

"Spending time with him. Is that all you ever do? I mean, for goodness sake, you spend hours with 

him on the phone every week and you end up spending more time talking to him than you do to me, and you _live _with me."

"Yeah, well. Maybe if you stopped coming home drunk then I would actually talk to you a bit more. And be reasonable, why don't you? You're complaining that I make just one call a week, when you, on the other hand, waste all the money by going out and getting drunk virtually every single night. At least when I call _him_ it means that I have someone to actually talk to. I can't remember the last I was able to have a conversation with you. In fact, I don't even remember the last time you came home sober! I'm not the one who is causing us problems, so how _dare _you accuse me of cheating on you." Mac said, raising her voice slightly. If it hadn't been for her daughter sleeping down the hall, then she would have been screaming at him. 

Unfortunately, he did not share her concern for the sleeping child and consequently did not bother to keep his voice down. When she asked him to be quieter he only shouted louder and pretty soon their conversation had turned into a shouting match. 

Six minutes later they were still shouting and Rob, getting sick of shouting, decided to put a stop to it the only way he knew how. He started walking in the direction of Ali's room.

"Where are you going, Rob? Don't you dare touch my baby."

"I'm going to do exactly as I please" He said opening the door of Ali's bedroom. "This child seems to be the cause of every single problem in this house, so I'm going to teach her a lesson." he said, his 

speech slightly slurred, reminding Mac of his drunken state.

Wonderful. I now have a drunken husband has decided to take his anger out on my daughter. I have to stop him she thought to herself desperately. _Oh how did I get myself into such a mess?_

"No, please don't touch her." Mac begged. Rob ignored her and stood in front of Ali's bed where the small child was sitting huddled against the wall, her knees drawn up to her chest. She was trembling uncontrollably.

"Listen here, you stupid child. You are the cause of all the problems around here and you do nothing but get in the way. Its time you learnt a lesson." He stated, raising a hand preparing to beat her. Mac snapped up and grabbed Rob's raised hand and twisted it around behind his back, making him yelp in pain. 

He now focused his attentions on Mac and aimed a blow at her head. Anyone could have seen it coming from a mile off, and she blocked it with ease. His next blow was aimed at her stomach and she blocked it too, and at the same time landed a punch in his right side. He clutched his side and looked up at her with a malicious expression on his face.

"You leave me and my daughter alone, Rob" Mac said angrily.

"Why should I? You deserve to be taught a lesson just as much as she does." He retorted, raising his fists to prove his point. He planned to fight her. 

She shook her head. "I wouldn't try to fight me, Rob. You know you can't win. I'm highly competent in self-defence, marine trained in hand-to-hand combat and an expert at kickboxing, remember? I could knock you flat in a matter of seconds."

"I don't care what you say, you bitch." He made another move toward Ali and was startled when a fist suddenly came out of nowhere and hit him in the side of the face."

"Don't. Touch. My. Daughter." She said, articulating every word carefully. She was mad. Very mad

"Whatever. You'll just have to stop me, then."

"Oh, I will stop you. C'mon, bring it on." She challenged him. She was now pumped up with adrenaline and knew that he didn't stand a chance against her. He had caused her so much unhappiness since her baby had been born and this was her opportunity to let him have a turn at feeling the pain. She finally had a chance to let out her anger on him. 

As she fought him it became obvious that he had at least a little bit of hand -to-had combat training. Although a lot of his blows were obvious and easy to block, some of them surprised her and caught her off guard and managed to hit her mark. Still, despite the weight advantage he held over her, her fighting skills were far superior to his and after three full minutes of non-stop fighting she was much better off than he was, having only sustained a few heavy blows, as opposed to the many he had taken. A shocked two year old looked silently on at the display in front of her in amazement. Whoever would have thought that her mummy could be so much stronger than her father?

"Give it up, Rob. There's no way you can win. Quit while you're ahead." She told him. Anger was rushing through her and although she would like nothing more than to punch his lights out, she felt that she ought to give him a chance to reconcile himself.

"You wish, you whore" That was the last straw for her. She lunged at him and assaulted his stomach with a series of painful punches before he had the chance to react. He fought her back kicking and throwing wild random punches in wherever he could. She finally decided to end it and landed a neat blow to his head, effectively knocking him out.

"Mama? I'm scared," A small scared voice piped up. 

"Oh Ali baby. Come here pumpkin." Mac knelt down and held out her arms and Ali ran into them sobbing. _The poor thing. I can't believe she had to see that. Why did I let her see that?_ She wondered. Another voice inside her head answered her question for her. _Because if you had tried to take the fight somewhere else he would have just gone back to her when he started losing. _She sighed and held her precious little girl tighter to her chest. 

"Ali, honey. I need you listen to me, okay." She said once Ali's sobbing had subsided. "We're going somewhere else for a while. Without your father. Do you understand?"

Ali nodded. Mac always referred to Rob as Ali's "father" rather than "daddy". Because that's all he was. He was her father and that was only a biological fact. Nothing more as far as she was concerned. He had never acted like a dad to her and had made it no secret that he resented her being around. 

"Father's a bad man, isn't he Mummy." She stated, catching Mac completely off guard.

"Why do you say that?"

"Because he tries to hurt you and he's always yelling at you and he tries to hurt me too. I don't like him. He makes you sad and that makes me sad." 

Mac looked at her daughter in astonishment. She was shocked at what her daughter had just said but in a way she was relieved. It made leaving just that much easier.

Six minutes later Mac had packed a medium-sized bag with a few changes of clothes for Ali and herself, a warm jumper (A/N: there is no such thing as a sweater in Australia) for each of them and some toiletries and basic makeup. She had also tied Rob's wrists together so that if he did wake before they had a chance to leave he wouldn't be able to hurt either of them.

She slung the bag over her shoulder and picked up Ali. Then they silently made their way out of the house and across the lawn to Mac's car. She had long since sold her Corvette for something more suitable and now had a silver CRV, which they could fit more comfortably and safely into. She quietly unlocked the doors and buckled Ali into her car seat. She started up the engine, wincing inwardly at how loud it seemed in the heavy silence, and headed off toward the airport.

Tuesday, 2000 local

LA airport

Fortunately, they lived near that airport and managed to get there in just under half an hour. By the time they arrived, Ali had fallen asleep in the back of the car. Mac got out and quietly picked up the bag then unbuckled her sleeping daughter and gathered her into her arms. 

As they entered the Airport they were met with the quiet bustle of leisurely activity. There were not nearly as many people as if it had been during the day but there were still a few people here and there and although there were hardly any people there, they made it look like it was busy. She made her way over to one of the desks and was greeted by a young woman with blonde hair and a pair of stylish blue-rimmed glasses. 

"Can I help you, ma'am?" She asked kindly. 

"Yes, please. What time is the next flight to Washington DC with available seats?" She asked

"Hang on, I'll just check." she tapped something on the computer in front of her and looked back up at Mac after a moment. 

"You seem to be in luck. There's one in only an hour and there are plenty of seats. Would you like some tickets?"

"Yes please." Said Mac gratefully.

"How many do you need?"

"One adult and one child, please. I have to buy a ticket for her, don't I? She's only two." she asked indicating the sleeping child in her arms. 

The lady behind the desk nodded her head. "It depends. Usually we only allow children under two on without tickets, but that's really more just a size thing. You don't have to buy a ticket but it means that she'll have to sit on your lap the whole time."

"Well in that case then I think I'll get two. She gets pretty restless if she doesn't have room to move while she sleeps."

"Okay then. That will be $1100."

"Just a sec, I'll get my card." She heaved the bag up onto the counter and began looking through it one-handed. She located the elusive credit card and handed it over. It was the card for a savings account that Rob didn't know about, with $5000 for emergencies. As the lady swiped the credit card Mac put the bag back onto the floor. While they were waiting for the transaction to go through the lady started a conversation with Mac. 

"So, why are you flying going out to DC at 10pm without buying tickets first with just one bag and a daughter with you? If you don't mind my asking."

Mac sighed. She knew she must look pretty strange, arriving at the airport with only one bag, her daughter and no husband. 

"Its complicated" she said. "But if I tell you it's going to be a long story." 

The lady shrugged "Your choice, honey. You have almost half an hour to spare before you have to board and there are hardly any people around so you won't be holding anything up. If you don't want to talk about it, then fine, but you look as though you could get something off your chest."

Mac smiled at the young woman. She didn't know what it was, but something told her that she could trust this woman.

"Okay then. And it would help to talk about it."

"How about we go sit on those chairs over there?" She asked, pointing to some chairs that right now were looking very inviting to Mac. 

"Besides, I only have fifteen minutes left on my shift. I'm sure no one will mind if I leave early."

Mac nodded and they made their way over to the lounges. Mac sat down with Ali in her lap, and the little girl began to stir slightly.

"Go back to sleep, pumpkin." she said, stroking Ali's hair absent-mindedly

"You're running, aren't you." The lady said. It wasn't a question but more of a statement. 

"By the way, I'm Sam" she added, holding out her hand.

Mac nodded in confirmation and took her hand and shook it 

"Sarah. But call me Mac, everyone does...or at least they used to." she added quietly.

"That has something to do with who you're running from, doesn't it?"

She nodded. "I haven't been called Mac since I left DC three years ago, except when I talk to my friends on the phone. It's my husband I'm running from. He's a drunk and verbally abusive and tonight he tried to hit Ali. When we first got married we were actually living in DC, but then he decided that we ought to move to LA, so we did. All my friends live in DC and in the three years we've been married he hasn't let me go back to see them once. I've had to keep in touch with them through e-mail, but I've missed them so much. I talk once a week with my best friend, but he's the only one who knows what's really going on."

"He?"

"Yes. _He_ is just a friend. Besides, I haven't seen him in three years"

Sam raised her eyebrows. 

"Bloody hell" ****Mac said. "Why does no one believe that I can have a male best friend and not be romantically involved with him. I've known him for eight years now and people still won't leave me alone despite the fact that I've been married for three entire years now."

Sam sniggered "I'm sorry. Continue on with what you were saying."

Mac sighed. "I've just missed out on so much. I mean, I haven't seen AJ, my godson, in three years. I only have photos to see how much he's grown. I call people on their birthdays, but I can't call more frequently because Rob complains about the cost, even when its only a few dollars. I miss them all so much, though."

"Man, that would suck. So are you leaving him?" 

"Yes. I've wanted to for a while now, but I kept thinking that maybe we could pull things back together and that maybe he really did still love me. But then tonight, we had a shouting match and he tried to go after my baby. I stopped him but then he tried to hit me instead." 

"Did he hurt you badly?"

Mac laughed. "Ha! Wishful thinking on his behalf. I hit him at least three times as much as he hit me and after a while I decided to take pity on him and just knocked him out."

"Pity?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, while we were fighting he was losing badly, and that just made him even more stubborn. He wasn't going to give up and there was no way that he could have won, so I knocked him out sooner rather than later. When I left he was still lying unconscious on the floor with his hands tied together -- just in case he woke up before we were gone."

Sam gaped at her. "Wow, you must be some fighter. Either that or he just couldn't fight."

"Actually, he's a pretty decent fighter. I would say that he's had some kind of self defence or something, because he held his ground surprisingly well."

"Well if he's had some training, then you must have had heaps of it. I can't see a scratch on you."

"They're mostly under my clothes, but yeah, I am pretty good at fighting. I'm a marine," she stated grinning "not to mention trained in hand-to-hand combat by the Marine Corps themselves, plenty of self defence up my sleeves and expert kickboxing training."

"Wow. Well, I think that you did the right thing by leaving. It's important that your daughter is safe. So where are you headed when you get to DC?"

"I'm going to go straight to Harm's. He's my best friend and he'll know exactly what to do. That's the great thing about him. It doesn't matter that three years has passed, we're still best friends and we've always been there for each other no matter what. Hey, do you want to see some photos of my friends back in DC?"

"I'd love to."

Mac pulled her wallet out and pulled out a wad of photos she kept in there and began showing them to Sam.

"This is AJ, the last time I saw him, and this is the last photo that Harriet sent of him. Oh, and this is Bud and Harriet, AJ's parents." She showed her a few more photos of Bud, Harriet and AJ before taking out her favourite photo. It was of Harm and her in civvies lounging in deck chairs in the Admiral's backyard at one of his barbecues.

"This is Harm. He was my partner at JAG, and best friend, for five years before I moved here. Out of everyone I miss him the most."

She showed Sam some more photos from everyone at JAG; Gunny, Tiner, Sturgis, even a few of the Admiral and one of Singer. They began to talk about Mac's job at JAG and her life before she was married. She was just in the middle of telling her a story about one of the times she had gone up with Harm in Sarah when Ali woke up.

"Mama, want drink." Just then a call came over the loudspeakers.

"Attention ladies and gentlemen. All passengers on flight 187 please board at gate 6. The plane is leaving in 30 minutes. Repeat: All passengers on flight 187 please board at gate 6. The plane will be leaving in 30 minutes." 

"Well, that's our flight. Come on pumpkin, we'll get you a drink then get onto our plane." she said to Ali. Ali nodded.

Mac smiled at Sam. "It was really great to meet you, Sam. Thanks for everything."

"Yeah. You know, it's been really great to meet you. I almost wish that you weren't going so that we could get to know each other."

"Yeah me too. Tell you what, give me your phone number and I'll call you when I get back to DC and we can talk again. "

"That's a great idea!" Sam wrote her out her number and gave it to Mac, who put it in her wallet. 

Mac stood up and picked up her bag and Ali. 

"Come on, munchkin. Lets get you some juice."

Wednesday, 2200 LA time 

Somewhere over the US

Mac shifted in her seat again. She was having trouble finding a comfortable position and her internal clock told her that they had only been on the plane for an hour, but it seemed like a lot longer. She looked over at the seat beside her and watched her angel sleep for a while. She eventually drifted off to sleep thinking about the fact that she was finally going home, that she would finally get to see her best friend again.

Wednesday, 0200 LA / 0500 DC (DC time will be used from now on)

DC airport

"Excuse me, ma'am, but you have to wake up now. The plane's about to land." Mac opened up one eye to see the flight attendant staring down at her.

"You need to put your seatbelt on, ma'am, and so does your daughter."

Mac nodded at her. "Okay. Thanks."

She reached over and woke up Ali and did her seatbelts up for her. By the time they had landed it was 0515 and Ali had fallen asleep again. She waited for the other passengers to leave the plane then stood up and slung her bag over her shoulder. Then she picked up her sleeping daughter and perched her on her hip and exited the plane. Once inside the airport she found an ATM and drew out $200 cash and went outside to hail a taxi.

Outside it was cold and wet, with the rain falling torrentially down onto the tarmac outside. Mac mentally kicked herself for not thinking to bring an umbrella, but fortunately there were a few taxis waiting outside at the taxi stand, so she didn't need to stand in the rain to wait for one. Unfortunately, however, the taxis were around 15 metres away, meaning that she had to run through the pouring rain to get to them.

She hugged Ali closer to her and wrapped her coat around her daughter in hopes of keeping her at least semi dry. She made a dash for the nearest taxi and opened the door and got into the back seat. 

"Hi there, ma'am. Where to?" The taxi driver asked. 

"Hi. Umm..." She debated what address to give the man. Her internal clock told her that it was currently 5:30am, and she didn't want to disturb Harm so early in the morning. The only other option, however, was to go to a motel and she didn't think that she could stand being so close without being able to see Harm. Besides all that, she really missed him and craved comfort, which she knew that he could give her. Finally deciding, she gave the man Harm's address and he looked rather surprised when she did.

"That's not really the nicest part of town, you know. You don't really want to be going there this early in the morning, if you don't mind me saying so, ma'am. It wouldn't be safe for you **or **(**not of**) your daughter."

She smiled at his concern. "Thanks for the concern, but its okay. I have a very good friend who lives there and will look after me." 

"Okay then" 

During the ride to Harm's apartment, the two adults made small talk, however the driver didn't question anything such as why she was getting a taxi at such an hour, especially to such a bad part of town, or why she was travelling so late with her daughter with her. For this, she was grateful, as she didn't really want to think about what had conspired in the last eight or so hours. As they got closer, all she could think about was how good it would be to see Harm again. She knew that despite the early hour, he would be happy to see her too and gladly let her stay with him for a while. 

Wednesday, 0549

Outside Harms apartment

When they arrived outside Harm's apartment, it was still pouring and Mac paid the driver and got out and bolted for the entrance as fast as she could, Ali tucked once again inside her jacket, asleep. She reached the doors only to find they were locked, with a keypad for entry.

"Damn! Since when does this part of town have such good security measures?" she said to no one in particular, shoving at the doors. She was getting soaked and the doors were not budging. She spotted a notice next to the door reading:

Any visitors wishing to enter the building must buzz the person of whom they wish to visit, who will open the doors. If wishing to enter the building after hours, please press the red button.

Mac located the red button and pushed it. 

"Yeah, what do ya want?" came the sleepy voice from the speaker beneath the button.

"I'd like to come in, please."

"I'm sorry, miss, no visitors this early in the morning."

"But I need to get in! Please." she begged

"I'm sorry, miss, but rules are rules. Why should I let you in and not anyone else?"

Mac's exhaustion and frustration got the better of her and she lost her cool with the guy. "Because I just flew in from LA, I'm standing outside at 5:49 in the morning with my two year old daughter in the pouring rain and I have absolutely nowhere else to go and if you don't let me in I will have no choice but to sleep in this torrential rain on the doorstep because the taxi I came here in has just driven off."

"Er, just a sec." A moment later she heard the locks on the doors open and thankfully pushed on the now open doors and entered into the dry interior of the dimly lit building. From around the corner came a young security guard who was obviously a newbie who had been assigned to the graveyard shift of looking after the after hours security. 

"I'm terribly sorry about all this, miss, but we're told to send late night visitors away. I'm sorry you had to get so wet."

"That's okay. We're inside now and that's all that I really care about."

"Ah, miss, can I ask you what you're doing here. Do you have a reason for being here? Because if you're not here to visit someone in particular then I'm afraid that I have to send you away again. Not that I want to, of course." He added quickly.

"No its fine. I have a friend who lives here. I just flew in from LA and I needed somewhere and he's my best friend so I figured I'd come here."

"Can you give me your friend's name?"

"Sure. Its Harmon Rabb." 

"Ah yes, I've seen him round quite a bit. Isn't he some sort of military person or something?"

Mac smiled. "Navy"

"Ah, I see. What does he do in the Navy?" He asked her. The truth was that he was actually quite good friends with Harm, however he figured that if this woman actually was a friend of his, then she would be able to tell him a little bit about Harm.

"Well he started off as a pilot but now he's a lawyer, for the Judge Advocate General. I was partnered with him for about five years."

The guard's eyes widened as he realised who he must be talking to. "So _you're _the infamous Sarah Mackenzie. He talks about you quite a lot, you know."

"Hang on, how do you know what he talks about?" she asked, immediately suspicious.

The guard chuckled. "He told me you were sharp. I know Harm quite well. I figured that if you were really a friend of his then you would know a little bit about him. I'm Matt Reynolds, by the way. Nice to meet you." He stated, holding out his hand.

Mac took his hand and shook it. "Well, you already know who I am, but just call me..."

"Mac" He finished off for her, "I know, everyone does. Harm told me."

Mac smiled. "As much as it's been nice talking to you, I'd really like to go see Harm now. Besides, I should really get Ali into some dry clothes." She said, indicating the sleeping infant resting on her hip."

"Sure thing. Do you need any help with your bag?"

"No, I'll be right thanks. It was good to meet you. Bye"

"Bye" 

Mac turned and headed for the elevator, which was thankfully working. She went up to Harm's floor and anxiously stepped out and walked to his door. She stopped and took a deep breath. She didn't even bother trying to make herself look presentable; her hair would no doubt be a mess, her clothes still dripping, what was left of her makeup smudged, her daughter perched on her hip looking just as unkempt. Why bother?

She took another deep breath and knocked loudly on his door, flinching at how loud it seemed compared to the silence surrounding her. When she heard nothing from within, she knocked again, even louder. This time she heard something move inside his apartment and just to make sure she knocked once more. There was the sound of heavy footsteps approaching the door then the sound of the safety chain being taken off the door and the lock being unlocked. The door swung open. 

A/N:I have now changed this chapter so that the time differences and flight times are correct. Thanks to everyone who gave me info on the times, especially Nikki. Thanks also to Harm-n-Mac Shipper for pointing out the couple of mistakes that Bekki and I both missed. They've also been corrected. And of course, thanks heaps to the wonderful Bekki, for beta-ing it for me. You're a gem. *runs over and hugs Bekki*

I have no idea if I should keep on going with this story or not. Please tell me what you thought. Did you love it? Hate it? Whatever, I just want to know. 

PLEASE REVIEW! Even if its just to tell me that you read it.


	2. Visiting JAG

Chapter 2 

Home is where your best friend is

Wednesday, 0559

Harm's apartment

Harm jolted awake when he heard a loud thumping noise. He listened carefully, but upon hearing nothing more, he assumed that he must have imagined it. He was about to close his eyes and go back to his sleep when he heard it again. It sounded like there was someone knocking on his door. But who on earth would be at his door at.....he glanced at his clock....0600 on a Wednesday morning. He got up and out of bed to investigate and heard the knocking again. 

"Alright, alright, I'm coming." He muttered under his breath and he shuffled over toward his door. He looked through the peephole but the light outside in the hallway had broken and all he could see was darkness. Cautiously, he opened the door and was greeted with the last sight that he expected to see. 

There was Mac, a bag over one shoulder and her child resting on the other side, dripping wet and standing outside his door. He stood there for a moment before grabbing her and pulling her tightly into his arms, being careful not to squash poor Ali. 

"Oh, Mac. I'm so glad to see you." he murmured, stroking her sopping hair with one hand.

Mac said nothing, but instead burst into tears, sobbing into Harm's t-shirt.

"Shhh, Mac. Its going to be okay. I'm here for you whenever you need me." 

This only made Mac sob even harder and he the two of them stood there, just holding each other. After almost five minutes, he loosened his embrace and took the bag off her and led her into his apartment. He put the bag at the end of the couch and took Ali from her arms, which were now starting to shake form the emotions and the cold. 

"Need, to...get....Ali into.....dry..." she chocked out. 

"Its okay, I've got it. You go and take a hot shower and get into something dry and I'll take care of Ali, okay?" Too tired to argue, Mac nodded mutely and fished through the bag for some clothes before heading of to the shower.

"Right then, little Ali, lets get you into something warm and dry." Harm said softly to the sleeping girl. He rummaged through the bag and found a fresh change of clothes which looked like they could be pyjamas, and began to change Ali. He hadn't had much practice with dressing children, however being around little AJ Roberts had helped him a little bit and he did have a little bit of experience at it. 

Mac emerged from the shower a mere six minutes later. She would have liked a longer shower but there were two things that stopped her. Firstly was the danger of falling asleep under the lovely hot water, and the second was the desire to be near Harm again. She drew comfort from his presence and right now comfort was what she needed. She entered the living room of Harm's apartment and stopped in the doorway, mesmerised by what she saw. After changing Ali's clothes, Harm had put her on the couch with a warm blanket and a pillow and was now singing softly to her, stroking her cheeks. Mac suddenly found herself wishing that she was the one on the couch. _Rob never showed any kind of affection like that to Ali_ she thought. _He never even showed that much to me. Harm has been kinder to me than Rob has been to me in years. Why did I marry him? Can anyone tell me? How could I have been such a terrible judge of character?_ Mac sighed. Her life was officially a mess.

At that moment Harm looked up and saw Mac staring off into the distance and he get up off the couch and walked over to her. He drew her into his arms and she melted into his embrace, sobbing once more. He rubbed his hand soothingly over her back, relishing the feeling of being close to her once again. He had missed her so much these past three years. He suddenly became aware that she was leaning almost her entire weight on him and he realised that she must be exhausted, both physically and emotionally. He didn't know what had happened yet, but he knew that she would tell him later on. Right now the most important thing was her getting some rest. He scooped her up into his arms and carried her into his bedroom where he laid her down on his bed. 

"Huh? Harm...what...?" She asked groggily.

"Shhh, marine. You need to sleep." He told her. A smile appeared on her face when he called her 'marine'. It was something that she hadn't been called in such a long time and she had forgotten how much she enjoyed hers and Harm's friendly banter. 

"My...my baby. Where is she?" Mac asked, sounding panicked all of a sudden. 

"Shhh, its okay Mac. She's safe in my apartment. Right in the other room. You want me to bring her in?" 

Mac nodded against the pillow. Harm left the room and returned a moment later with the sleeping child in his arms. He laid her in front of Mac and Mac's arms immediately went around her, clutching her protectively to her chest.

"I'll just be in the other room if you need anything, okay Mac? I'll just be getting ready for work. After all I'm up, so I may as well do something productive while I'm awake."

Mac became suddenly panicked. "No!" She said. "No, please, don't leave me. Something could happen. Someone else could try to hurt my baby. Please Harm, don't go." she begged.

Harm was shocked by how scared she had suddenly become of being alone. 

"Its alright Mac. No one's going to hurt you or Ali. You're safe here. I won't let anything happen to you. I promise."

"Don't make a promise you can't keep, flyboy."

"I haven't yet." He responded quietly.

Harm lay on top of the covers and snuggled up behind Mac, his arms going protectively around both her and Ali, with the intention of comforting Mac until she was asleep and then finish getting ready for work. He was so comfortable where he was, though, that his eyes soon began to get heavy, and it was thus that the two of them fell asleep. 

Wednesday, 0715

Harm's apartment

Harm groaned as his alarm went off and hurriedly hit the off button to try and stop it from waking Mac. Unfortunately, he wasn't fast enough and Mac groaned and rolled over so that she was facing Harm. 

"You have work today." She stated

"Yeah, but I'm planning to call in sick. You need someone to....be here for you." He had been about to say 'someone to look after you' but he changed his mind at the last minute, knowing that a comment like that would not go down terribly well. "You've been through a lot and you're both physically and mentally exhausted. You need to sleep."

"No, don't call in sick just because of me. I'm perfectly capable of looking after myself. And anyway, I plan on coming with you. I miss everyone so much, even the admiral." she added with a grin. "It'll be good to see everyone again. Besides, I have a divorce to arrange."

Harm looked at her. "Mac, what happened last night?"

"I'll tell you later, Harm. Let me get up first."

"Okay. You bringing Ali? Wait, don't answer that. Stupid question. What else would you do with her?" he shook his head "Come on, marine. Lets get ready." he said climbing off the bed "We have a lot of catching up to do today."

Wednesday, 0815

JAG Headquarters

Harm's SUV pulled into a space at the JAG carpark. He got out then walked around to the other side and opened the door for Mac. 

"Why, thankyou sailor. What a perfect gentleman." She smiled up at him and stepped out of the car then opened the door behind her and lifted Ali out. The girl squirmed in her arms, so she put her down and let her walk, holding tightly onto her hand.

As they approached the guards, Harm flashed them his military ID. They stopped the two of them and asked Harm who his visitor was, and what her purposes in the JAG office were.

"Ah, she's an old friend. She's coming back to visit everyone in the office."

"Was this visit cleared with the Admiral, sir?" asked one of the guards.

"No. She arrived unexpectedly this morning and I haven't had a chance to clear it with the Admiral. But I am positive that he won't mind."

"Sir, you know the rules. All visitors must be cleared before we allow them in."

"Since when has that been a rule?" Mac asked. "I've never heard of such a rule."

"Since the last breach in security." the guard told her.

"Oh."

"So I'm sorry but we can only let in authorised personnel."

Mac and Harm stood there for a moment contemplating what to do, when Mac suddenly remembered that she had brought her military ID with her.

"Actually, I am authorised, officer." She told the guard. "I used to work here until I got transferred to a place in LA. Hang on a sec and I'll get my military ID" She rummaged through her purse before pulling out her ID and holding it up for inspection with a triumphant 'Ah Ha'. The moment the guards saw that she was a Colonel, they snapped to attention. 

"Sorry about the misunderstanding, ma'am." They said, still at attention. 

"That's alright. Are we free to proceed?" 

"Yes, ma'am, sir. Have a nice day."

"You too"

Harm, Mac and Ali walked to the end of the corridor where they entered the elevator. Mac was becoming more and more nervous about seeing everyone again and Harm, noticing this, took her hand in his and gave it a squeeze to let her know that he was there for her. Mac looked up at him and gave him a grateful look and in return her have her a reassuring smile. 

The elevator doors opened and the three of them stepped out into the bullpen. Mac looked around and was surprised to see that barely anything had changed since she had left. The desks were practically in the same positions, all the offices looked the same and the general bustle of activity had a familiar air about it, making Mac feel much more relaxed and right at home.

The one thing that was different though, was all the unfamiliar faces of many of the young ensigns and junior officers. It seemed that many of them had been replaced or reassigned in the three years she had been gone. One face that did catch her eye, however, was that of a blonde woman hurrying through the bullpen with a stack of files in her arms. Mac smiled brightly upon seeing a friendly and familiar face.

"Look, Harm. Its Harriet." she said excitedly.

"Yes, I know that its Harriet." was Harm's reply. She gave him a playful slap to his arm. 

"Yes I know that you know, flyboy, but remember that you saw her yesterday and I haven't seen her in three years. I think that I have grounds for being excited, thankyou very much."

"You're right." Harm gave her his best puppy dog look. "I'm sorry, Mac. Can you ever forgive me."

Mac laughed. "All right flyboy, you're forgiven. 

Harm flashed her his famous flyboy grin. "Good. Now what say we go and pay a visit to our blonde friend over there?"

While all of this had been going on, Ali had been looking around in awe. The place was very big and noisy and it scared her a bit. She clutched even tighter onto Harm's sleeve and Harm, sensing how timid she was, picked her up. Ali smiled. She had taken a great liking to her 'unca Harm'. Not only was he very nice to her, but he made her mama happier, which she liked because it meant that mama would be more likely to play with her.

The three of them headed over towards Harriet who had stopped to talk to talk to one of the ensigns about one of their cases.

"...and I'll need those DNA results back by 1900 tomorrow. Is that clear?"

"Yes, ma'am" said the ensign.

"Good, I'll also need the files from last week's..." the rest of what Harriet was saying was lost to the ensign as he caught sight of Harm, Mac and Ali exiting the elevator over Harriet's shoulder. He watched them with a keen interest, intrigued my the strange woman who was in the office with Commander Rabb.

"...and you clearly haven't heard a word of what I just said. Ensign!" Harriet barked, making the startled ensign jump and focus his attention back on Harriet. 

"I'm sorry, ma'am." He apologised, his face going red.

Harriet's expression softened. It wasn't in her nature to be mad at anyone for very long. "It's alright, ensign, we all lose our concentration sometimes. But I must ask, what was so interesting that you couldn't listen to a word of what I was saying?" she asked him, her eyebrows raised.

"Well, ma'am. It's Commander Rabb."

"Commander Rabb?"

"Yes, ma'am. Its just that, well, he's already here, ma'am, and its not even 0830. He's usually not here until at least 0915."

"Well I do have to admit, that is highly unusual for the Commander, but I can't believe that you spent all that time looking at the Commander just because he arrived early."

"Er, no, ma'am. Its just, there's a pretty woman and child with him. They're heading over here now." the ensign told her.

Harriet turned around and gasped, the stack of files dropping unceremoniously out of her arms and onto the floor. 

"Oh my gosh. Mac!" Harriet's joyful cry could be heard throughout the bullpen and they looked up to see that young blonde officer hugging Mac like she hadn't see her in years. Which of course was because she hadn't. Among those whose attention was drawn by Harriet's scream were Sturgis, Bud and gunnery sergeant Galindez. The three of them rushed over to join Harriet in welcoming Mac.

"Mama, why they call you 'Mac'?" came a small voice from Harm's arms (A/N: tee hee, it rhymesJ ). Everyone stopped their questions to Mac and looked at the little girl. 

"Its just what they call me, pumpkin. Like how I call you munchkin instead of Alison, they call me Mac." She explained, taking her daughter back from Harm. 

"Oh. Okay mama."

The noise grew even louder as Mac introduced Ali to everyone. It got so loud , in fact, that the Admiral came out of his office to see what was going on. 

"Attention on deck" he roared.

The entire bullpen froze then immediately snapped to attention, Mac included, her military training kicking back in, despite her working as a civilian lawyer for several years. Although she was at attention, she couldn't be seen behind the crowd of people who had come to admire her daughter.

"What's all the racket out here? And what are you all so busy looking at?" He demanded, glaring at the know of people surrounding Harm, Mac and Ali.

"Uh, that would be..."

"Me, sir." Mac spoke up. The crowd of people moved away so that Mac could actually be seen by the Admiral. His face went from angry to shocked to delighted in less that a second. 

"Ma...Colonel!" he exclaimed. "It's so good to see you again. Rabb, I presume that you have something to do with this?"

"Why does everyone automatically assume that anytime anything out of the ordinary happens that I'm involved?"

"Because you almost always are." Mac retorted. "And if you're not, then it'll only be a matter of time before you _are_ involved."

"Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence, Mac."

Mac smirked.

"Rabb, Mackenzie, Simms, Roberts, Turner, Galindez, I want you in my office, now." He told them. "Oh, and will someone please pick up those folders?"

The six of them, plus Ali, who was still in Mac's arms, filed into AJ's office after him. When they were all in there he shut the door and turned to them, smiling, and asked,

"Where's my hug, Mac?" They all laughed and Mac passed Ali to Harm and gave AJ a hug.

"So, Colonel. What brings you all the way out here?" AJ asked. Mac sighed and began recounting her tale.

Meanwhile, outside in the bullpen, questions were fluing around everywhere, but the question on everyone's lips was; was that woman _the_ Colonel Mackenzie? The one of whom Rabb, Turner, Simms and Roberts all spoke so highly of? The one who they were always referring to and who had left JAG almost three years ago? The one woman who, everyone knew, had captured their favourite Commander's heart? Ten minutes later the door to the Admiral's office opened. They were about to find out.

A/N: Thankyou _so much_ everyone who reviewed last chapter. Please keep reviewing, even if its just to say that you've read it! Thanks to all the people who gave me the time difference between LA and DC, the first chapter has been corrected, and a big special thankyou and an extra big hug to Bekki.   
Oh, and if there are any mistakes in there I apologise. Please tell me so that I can fix them.


	3. Partners

****

Chapter 3

Home is where your best friend is

Wednesday 0845

JAG Headquarters

Out of the office emerged Bud, Harriet, Sturgis and Gunny. The people in the bullpen looked at each other curiously, all wondering the same thing: why were Rabb and the mystery woman still in there? They tried to ask Bud, Harriet, Sturgis and Gunny about it, but none of them would say anything other than, "she's an old friend", neither would they confirm nor deny any of the rumours that had begun to circulate around the office. The four of them all headed to their respective offices of desks and started to work. Realising that they would get nothing out of any of them, the rest of the staff gave up and resumed their work.

0846

The Admiral's office

JAG headquarters

"Now that they're gone, I want to ask you something, Mac" 

"Of course, sir." 

"I'm going to be blunt. Do you want your job back? Because we're currently understaffed and you're one damn good lawyer and I for one would love to have you back. That is, of course, if you plan on staying here."

Mac was taken off guard by this question. Did she want her old job back?

"Actually, sir, I hadn't really actually thought that far. Yes I do plan on staying here - I'm getting a divorce and moving back as soon as I can - but I hadn't even got around to considering my job status. Mind you..." she considered it for a moment. Just the thought of working at the JAG again was wonderful. She hadn't realised how much she had missed it until she had come back. Not to mention that she would get to see her best friend every day again.

"Well, now that I think about it...Hell yeah!" she suddenly remembered who she was talking to. "Ah, I mean, er, yes, sir, I would like that very much."

"Excellent. Commander Rabb, I believe that you have been needing a new partner, ever since your last one decided to high-tail it to New Jersey, is that right?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Well I have a proposition for you. I did already have someone lined up for you, but seeing as you seem to work best when working with someone you know and trust, I think that the Colonel here would be an excellent choice."

Harm's face lit up like a four-year-old's on Christmas morning, making Mac laugh at him, although in truth she was just as delighted, if not more so, with the proposition as Harm was.

"I take it that there are no objections?" the Admiral asked, knowing fully well that there was no way on earth that either of the two officers were going to turn this one down. 

"No, sir." they replied simultaneously.

"Good. Colonel, when do you want to start work?"

"As soon as I can, sir. Although I still have a few things to sort out such as my job back in LA, where I'm going to live and of course I still have to file for a divorce. Which I plan on going today or tomorrow, just as soon as get up the nerve to call him. Besides, the sooner I start, the sooner I can get my mind off everything else."

"Excellent. You start tomorrow. Do you have a uniform?"

"Tomorrow, sir? You'd really let me start tomorrow? That's wonderful, only no, I don't have a uniform. They're all back in LA. Although, come to think of it, I haven't actually worn a uniform since I left."

"Then I suggest that you get used to wearing one again, because if I have anything to say about it you'll be working here for a long time." The Admiral told her. "Now, about this dilemma. I'm sure that you could get your uniforms sent up here by your husband, but you'll still need something for the next few days. I suggest that you..."

"Ah, actually, I have one." Harm interrupted quietly. Both Mac and the Admiral turned and looked hard at Harm, trying not to stare.

"Harm, as much as I appreciate your generous offer, somehow I don't think that any of your uniforms would fit me." Mac told him, trying hard not to laugh at his ridiculous offer. 

Harm rolled his eyes. "Not one of my uniforms, jarhead, one of yours." 

Now Mac and he Admiral really did stare at him. No one said anything for a minute, until Mac finally managed to speak up.

"And exactly how, may I ask , is it that you have one of my uniforms?" she asked incredulously.

"Well, ah..."

"Yes, Commander? I'd very much like to know this story too." the Admiral said.

"We-ell, about three weeks after you left, Mac, I was at the dry cleaners picking up my dress whites when one of the people asked if I worked at the JAG office, because one of the people there had put in a uniform for cleaning and hadn't come back to get it. When I told them I did, they asked me to tell a certain Colonel Mackenzie that her uniform was there and waiting to be picked up. So..." Harm shrugged, "I paid for it and told them that I'd give it to you. I meant to send it to you, but I never got around to it and I eventually forgot about it." He finished up. 

In actual truth, he hadn't forgotten about the uniform at all, but kept I hanging in his wardrobe to remind him of his favourite marine who he had missed so much. But of course, he wasn't going to tell them that...although the looks on their faces would have been priceless if he did.

By this time both the Admiral and Mac were staring disbelievingly at him. It was Mac who finally broke the awkward silence.

"I was wondering where my spare uniform had got to. And you had it all this time and you never once mentioned it to me? Why not?"

Harm tried to work out how to answer her question. Not only had he not forgotten about her uniform, but he had never really had any intention of returning it to her. How on earth was he going to explain _that _to her? The answer: he wasn't. 

"Actually, I'm not really sure, Mac. I just guess that when you called there were more important things to talk about it and it just slipped my mind." 

__

Liar his mind screamed. The amount of times that he had sat talking to her while staring at her uniform.... 

"Riiiiiiiiight..." he could tell that Mac didn't believe him, but she had decided to drop it so he wasn't complaining. He would just have to talk to her later. Alone. 

"Anyway, back to what I was saying, Colonel. If you could start work on Monday next week then that would be wonderful. At the moment we're so short handed that it's not funny. And with Harriet leaving next week..."  


She cut the Admiral off mid sentence. "What do you mean, leaving?"

"Oh not actually leaving, but going on leave. She's taking a month of personal leave, to spend more time with her son I believe, which is going to throw the office into chaos, at least until someone can work out how her filing system works. Plus the newest attorney that we hired just isn't cutting it. He doesn't seem to know anything at all about law and I'm amazed that he even passed his exams. But with you back on the scene then hopefully things will start to pick up. We've missed you, you know. And we've missed having you around the office."

"Yeah, and I've missed someone to fight with and go up against in court, and I know that the rest of the office has missed our fighting, even if they wouldn't be caught dead admitting it. I mean after all, for five years or so we were the main entertainment at the office. No one could out-fight us." Harm added. Mac snorted.

"Whatever you say, flyboy."

"Will you two please take it outside." the Admiral cut in, starting to get annoyed with them already. _As much as it's going to be good to have her back again, I can tell that things around this office are going to get a whole lot more interesting. Almost the way that they were three or four years ago... _ the Admiral inwardly flinched as the realisation of what he had just though hit him. _...three to four years ago...oh, no. With Mac getting a divorce this is going to be her and Harm dancing around each other yet again. _He sighed inwardly. _I don't know how long I'm going to be able to cope with this. _The tension level of his office was about to go right up...

"Colonel, I expect to see you here first thing Monday morning. Don't worry about your LA firm, I'll give them a call and explain to them the situation and tell them that I would have gone through the proper procedures had we not been so desperate for a decent lawyer. Colonel, go home and....wait, scrap that. Go and find somewhere to stay while you're here and Commander, go with her. She'll need a car anyway. That will be all. Dismissed."

"Aye, sir" they replied, snapping to attention before turning and walking out of his door. He observed as Harm held the door open for Mac, allowing her and Ali, who had fallen asleep again, to pass through first. 

__

Yep thought AJ as he watched them leave. _He's still in love with her. And deep down she is still in love with him. Both of their lives are about to get incredibly complicated. Again._

Wednesday 0905

JAG headquarters

Everyone stopped what they were doing when the door to the admiral's office opened again. Of course, they made it _look_ like they were working, however they were all stealing as many 'subtle' glances at the two people now heading towards Harriet's office. Once again the silent and unspoken questions were on everyone's minds. _Who is she? What does Commander Rabb have to do with her? Where are they going? Why are they leaving so early? What's for lunch? What did the Admiral want with them, he didn't seem angry? What's with the kid?_

A knock on her door took Harriet away from her files and for the third time in a row she lost her train of thought. _Darn it _she thought, slightly annoyed at whoever was knocking on her door. She sighed. _Oh well, it's not their fault that I lost my concentration._

"Enter." she called out. The door swung open and Harm and Mac stepped in, Mac still with a sleeping Ali resting on her hip. 

"Hi Harriet." Mac greeted her.

"Hello, Mac." In the time that Mac had been away shed finally managed to break Harriet of her habit of calling her "ma'am" when they were out of uniform. Now it looked like she was going to have to make it a habit once more. Mac chuckled at the thought and Harriet looked at her questioningly.

"Oh, it's nothing, Harriet. It's just that it took me so long to get you to call me 'Mac' and now I'm going to have to make you call me 'ma'am' all over again."

Harriet looked at her, somewhat confused. 

"I'm coming back to work here, Harriet. The Admiral said that the office was in desperate need of more lawyers and he gave me my old job back. I even get to be partnered with Harm again."

Harriet's expression went from confusion to joy and she immediately stood up and threw her a quick salute. "That's wonderful, ma'am. We've really missed you, you know." 

"Thanks Harriet. I've missed you too, you know. I was just wondering if you could do me a favour."

"Sure, ma'am. What do you want?" 

"A divorce, but that's no what I came to ask you for. Actually, I was wondering if you could give me the number for little AJ's daycare. I really don't want to leave Ali alone, but I can't bring here to work and besides, she used to go to daycare back home, it's just that she won't know anyone. And I figured that I could get her acquainted with AJ over the weekend so then she wouldn't feel so intimidated by everything when she got there."

Harriet beamed at the idea. "Of course, ma'am. I think that's a wonderful idea. Why don't you come around sometime on Saturday? How does 1600 sound?"

"Sounds wonderful."

"Good, I'll tell Bud. Here's the number." she said, scribbling a phone number and an address onto a piece of paper. "Just give them a call and explain your situation to them and mention the fact that you want her to be with AJ and I'm sure they'll let you in. If not, call me and I'll find you another place to try."

"Thanks Harriet." Mac said sincerely. "You're a wonderful friend. I'll see you on Saturday. Oh, and don't be surprised if Harm turns up as well. Because I have a feeling that he's going to be the unlucky one whose car I'm going to be borrowing for the next week." the two women laughed and Harm rolled his eyes.

"Okay then. Bye sir, ma'am. I'll see you later."

"Bye Harriet."

Harm and Mac exited Harriet's office and headed for the elevators, acutely aware of the many sets of eyes following them from the bullpen. 

"Right then, marine. Where to next?" Harm asked once they were inside the elevator, heading towards to ground floor. 

"Your place, so I can get the marriage papers from my bag and access to a phone that will make interstate calls. I have some unfinished business to sort out."

A/N: Wheeeeeeeeee! So? Whaddaya think? Any suggestions for what should happen? Please review as you read. After all, the more reviews I get, the more and the faster I shall write. Plus I very much appreciate constructive criticism and if I have made any mistakes, please tell me and I'll fix them up.

And to 'sunchaser2', the answer to your question is in chapter one.

__

She had transferred temporarily to help out a civilian lawyers office in LA and when Ali had been born she had asked to be stationed there permanently. She also requested to be kept out of fieldwork for the Marines so that she could look after her child.

She basically served in a civilian lawyers office but she was still in the marines, on inactive duty, or in reserve or something. But you get the idea.


	4. Auntie Mac is back

Chapter 4

Home is where your best friend is

"Right then, marine. Where to next?" Harm asked once they were inside the elevator, heading towards to ground floor. 

"Your place, so I can get the marriage papers from my bag and access to a phone that will make interstate calls. I have some unfinished business to sort out."

Wednesday 0950

Little Tot's Daycare

Harm's SUV pulled up outside the daycare centre. They had planned to head to Harm's apartment, however upon looking at the address on the piece of paper Harriet had given her, Mac had discovered that the daycare was very close to Harm's apartment, so they had decided to drop in on the way there. 

As Mac got Ali out of the car, she woke up.

"Where are we, mummy?" she asked sleepily.

"We're at a new daycare, honey." she told her daughter, wondering how she would react to the news.

"Oh. But I like my daycare, mama. I don't want a different one." Ali pouted and Harm chuckled quietly behind them. It seemed that Ali was just as stubborn as her mother, even if she was only two.

"I know you do, Ali, but you're going to have to go to this daycare now. But it'll be okay. I'm sure there will be lots of nice people to play with. Alright, munchkin?"

Ali nodded. "Good girl." said Mac, kissing her forehead. She turned to Harm.

"Alright, sailor, lets get this show on the road." She picked up Ali and they made their way over to the gate. They went through it and found themselves in a fenced-in playground filled with young children ranging from as young as one to as old as five. They followed the narrow brick path until they came to what looked like an administrative building and entered. They were greeted by a young woman in her mid-twenties carrying a toddler of about three or four. There was something familiar about her which Mac couldn't quite place. 

"Hello there, can I help you?" she asked, smiling brightly at the two of them. 

"Yes, please. I'd like to know about enrolling Ali here," she told the lady, glancing at Ali who was busy looking around with interest at all the other children. "however I need somewhere that can take her next week."

"Next week? That's rather short notice for being able to find a spot for her. May I ask why you need it so suddenly."

"My job." was Mac's reply. "I just moved back here and the job I have needs me to start right away." _Well, technically I haven't actually moved back yet. _She thought _But I'll be moving soon enough._

"Ah, I see. Was there a reason that you chose this particular daycare? Or did it just happen to be the closest one to you?"

"Actually, a friend of mine, Harriet Simms-Roberts, has a son who goes here and I wanted Ali to go somewhere that I knew would be good. And seeing as Harriet speaks so highly of this place, I figured I may as well try it out."

The lady smiled, glad that they had built up such a good reputation. "Ah yes, little AJ Roberts. He's quite a sweetheart, isn't he?"

Mac's expression became saddened. "Yeah, I suppose he is. At least, he was the last time I saw him..." She trailed off as she was once again reminded of how much she had missed by being away for so long. 

Harm could tell that thinking about the last time she had seen AJ was painful for her, reminding her about everything that had happened over the last day and he gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze then rubbed his hand comfortingly over her back, soothing her.

"Hmm, well, I have to say that we don't usually take people's children on such short notice, however, seeing as Harriet send you...she's such a lovely woman. How could I possible say no to one of her friends?" asked the lady smiling warmly at them.

"Thankyou _so _much. You have no idea how much easier this makes things for me." 

"Oh, I'm not so sure about that. If you're going to be working at the same office as Harriet does, then I know exactly how much stress it takes off. I've visited that place and it can be absolutely chaotic."

"Yeah, actually, I am working at the JAG. And I just couldn't imagine trying to take Ali to work with me and make her sit still for even a second. I remember the time when Harriet had to bring AJ to work with her...it was insane to say the least."

"I can imagine. Now if you could just come with me please and we can fill out your forms and while you're doing that I'll just sort out Benny" she indicated the toddler in her arms. 

"Hey Mac." Harm said

"Yeah?"

"Would you mind if I went and said hello to AJ while you're filling out the forms. Then I could tell him that his 'Auntie Mac' is back. He still remembers you, you know. He often asks when you're going to be coming back for a visit."

Mac's face lit up. "Really? He actually remembers me?"

"Yep. So do you mind?"

"Not at all. Just as long as you bring me to see him afterwards."

"Sure thing, ninjagirl."

Mac followed the lady to the desk where the registration forms were waiting and Harm went in the opposite direction, back out to the playground in search of AJ.

"Can I help you, sir?" Harm turned around to see another employee holding a child standing behind him.

"Ah, no thanks. I'm just looking for AJ. Unless you could tell me where he is?"

"AJ Roberts?" Harm nodded. "Of course. He's over there playing in the sand pit." the woman told him, pointing to the far corner of the playground."

"Thankyou very much."

"Hang on a moment, sir. Are you a relative? Because only relatives and others who are listed on their forms are allowed to collect the children."

"Oh, I'm not collecting him, I'm just saying hi to him. I'm his Godfather."

"Okay then. Well I've never seen you before so if you don't mind I'm just going to make sure that he really knows you and if he doesn't then I'm afraid that I'm going to have to ask you to leave the premises."

Wow, good security they have around here. Ali will definitely be safe here.

"Sure thing." he replied.

He approached the sand pit that was filled with giggling kids. He immediately picked out the familiar blonde head, which unlike the rest of the children who were building sand castles, was busy flying a toy plane around and pretending to blow up his sandcastles.

The woman shook her head. "I don't know where he gets it from, but that kid has an addiction to planes. He can even tell you about those F-11s or whatever they are. Bobcats or something."

Harm grinned and chucked. 

"What is it?" she asked.

"Oh, nothing. And they're F-14s, not F-11s. Tomcats."

The lady said nothing but merely raised an eyebrow, prompting Harm to go on with is explanation. 

"I'm a pilot....or at least, I used to be. I used to fly one of them, which is the reason why AJ knows so much about them. He thinks that me being a pilot is one of the coolest things in the world"

"I see. Well, that would explain it."

Harm arrived at the edge of the sandpit and observed AJ playing for a moment before alerting to boy to his presence.

"You know, buddy, you'd better refill that plane of yours before she runs out and crashes."

AJ looked up from his playing and his face broke into a huge grin.

"Unca Harm, Unca Harm, Unca Harm" He yelled charging toward Harm at the end of the sandpit. 

"Hey there sport." He picked AJ up and held him over his head, the little guy screaming with delight.

"Unca Harm, Unca Harm, make me a tomcat. I wanna fly!"

"Not right now, buddy." AJ pouted as Harm lowered him back down to eye level. "But I do have a surprise for you."

"A surprise? What is it?" The almost-five-year-old got excited all over again, bouncing around in his arms. 

"Well, you know how you keep asking when you're Auntie Mac is going to visit you again?" AJ nodded. "Well, she's come back and she's here right now."

AJ's eyes grew wide. "Really? Where is she? I wanna see Auntie Mac! Auntie Mac, Auntie Mac, Auntie Mac." AJ began singing as he bounced up and down again and Harm gave up put him down and watched him run around like an aeroplane singing.

"Auntie Mac came back, Auntie Mac came back, Auntie Mac came back..."

As Harm expected, he eventually calmed down and returned to Harm. 

"When can I see Auntie Mac?"

"You can see her right now, big guy." 

"YAY" AJ shouted, clapping his hands together.

"Say, AJ do you want a shoulder ride to her?"

"Yeah!"

Harm grinned at his godson and picked him up, placing him on his shoulders. He headed back down the pathway and into the administrative centre and opened the door. Propping the door open with his foot, he took AJ off his shoulders and placed him back down on the floor and instead took his hand. After all, he didn't want to take AJ's head off while walking through the door, which, given his tall frame, was bound to happen. 

Harm and AJ approached Mac from behind. She was standing at the desk filling out forms, the other woman holding Ali while she worked.

"Hey Ma-ac" Harm called as he got close to her. "I have someone who wants to see you." She turned around and stared at AJ. He was so big to her. The last time she had seen him he had been about Ali's age.

"AJ!" 

"Auntie Mac" he called, immediately recognising her. She dropped to her knees and held out her arms to the small whirlwind that was rushing towards her. He flung himself into her arms and she held him tightly, her eyes shut, the expression on her face saying that all was finally right in the world. Harm wished he had a camera.

After several minutes Mac finally released AJ. She moved her head backwards so that she could see him properly.

"My goodness, you've grown so much. Oh, I've missed you little buddy."

"I missed you too Auntie Mac. I though that you weren't going to come back."

"Well I'm back now. And I'm going to be staying for a while too."

"Yay." AJ shouted ecstatically, throwing himself once again into Mac's arms.

"AJ, I have someone who I want you to meet." Mac told him, standing up. She had no idea what he would think of Ali, but she hoped that they would get along well. It would help Ali a great deal if the had someone like AJ to look after her next week when she came. Mac took back Ali, who had ended up with Harm again, and put her down on the ground, crouching down beside her. 

"AJ, this is Ali. She's my daughter, so do you know what that makes her to you?"

AJ shook his head.

"That makes her your God-sister." 

AJ's eyes brightened at the thought. "I get a God-sister? Cool." He turned to Ali. "Hi Ali, I'm AJ. It's nice to meet you."

"Hi." Ali replied shyly before turning around and burying her head in her mother's jacket. Mac put her arm around her. 

"Don't be shy, honey. AJ's very nice and he's going to look after you next week. Do you think you could do that for me, AJ?"

AJ nodded, happy to be trusted with such an important task by his Auntie Mac. 

"Well AJ, your Uncle Harm and I have to go now, but we're going to see you again on the weekend. Okay?"

"Yep." AJ followed Harm and Mac and Ali, who was holding onto Mac's hand, out of the building and to the gate. 

"Bye Auntie Mac, bye Unca Harm." AJ waved as Harm opened the gate for Mac and Ali and the three of them left the daycare centre. Both Harm and Mac waved back energetically to the child and even Ali managed a small wave. 

As they walked back to Harm's car he noticed that Mac was grinning. 

"Watcha smiling about, marine." he asked, smiling also. Her mood was infectious.

"Oh, nothing. It's just that I was so worried that Ali wouldn't like AJ, or vice versa. But I can tell that she likes him so I know that she's going to be just fine."

"How can you tell that she likes him?" Harm asked incredulously. "She only said one word to him."

"Which is one word more than she would have said do any other kid. Besides, I'm her mother. I can tell."

"Ah, right. Maternal instincts and all I suppose..." he grinned and he remembered one of the conversations they had had when Chloe had been lost. 

~~"Hey Mac. Anyone ever tell you that you have great maternal instincts?"

"Not as often as they tell me I have a great karate chop."~~

"What are _you _smiling about, flyboy?"

"Oh, nothing. Just the conversation we had involving your maternal instincts when Chloe was lost. Do you remember it?"

"Yes, and I am very proud of my karate chop, thankyou very much."

Harm rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Get in the car, you."

Mac tossed him a mock salute. "Yes, sir."

Harm gave her a playful slap on the arm before opening the door and climbing in. 

A/N: I have just one thing to say.... PLEASE REVIEW!!! This is probably the last chapter that I'll post before Christmas but I promise you that there will definately be more after christmas, and if I get 20 reviews or more for this chapter then I'll be nice to you and post another chapter before Christmas comes along. But only if I get the reviews. Any mistakes you notice please tell me about and I'll fix them up -- I haven't been able to get a hold of my beta so this chapter (and the last one) are un-betad.

Have a wonderful Christmas everyone and God Bless. =)


	5. The Call

Chapter 5

Home is where your best friend is

This chapter is a Christmas pressie for everyone who was nice to me and reviewed. I asked for 20 reviews on the last chapter and got at least 25! You guys are so great and this chapter is especially for DD2 tried to review 20 times, only FF.net wouldn't let her. Also of course I hafta say thanks to Bekki just for being there to run my ideas by and to check details etc. 

Enjoy everyone

Wednesday, 1115

Harm's apartment

Mac sat on the wide kitchen counter, her kneed drawn halfway up to her chest, waiting for the pot of coffee to finish. She looked around her and sighed with contentment. She had spent so much of her time in Harm's apartment before moving to LA, that coming back to here was actually somewhat comforting because of it's familiarity and the fact that she felt that she could lean on Harm for stability while she tried to sort everything out. She looked around and saw that hardly anything had changed since she had been here last. There were a few more photos on the walls and more trinkets on shelves all over the place, but the place held a familiar air about it that made her feel that she had truly come home. She could see Ali sitting on the floor playing quietly in Harm's bedroom. She sighed again, this time not out of contentment. Her life was a mess. She turned her attention from the inside of the apartment to the window on her left and what lay beyond. She started out through the glass and into the drizzly grey cityscape below. As she and Harm were leaving AJ's daycare they had noticed the ominous black storm clouds gathering above them and within 15 minutes it had been bucketing down. The rain had since stopped, however the drizzle had continued on and off for the last hour. She watched the narrow street below her and the people who wandered past, their black umbrellas fitting in perfectly with the dull colour scheme that had been crated by the lousy weather. She found herself wondering about each person who passed below and what they did, wondering if their lives were as messed up as hers seemed to be. So lost in her musings, she jumped when she suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder. 

"Sorry Mac, I didn't mean to startle you."

She shook her head. "It's alright. I was just thinking random thoughts about my life and how weird it has become over the last less than 18 hours. But we're not here to speculate on the strange turn my life has taken. How about some coffee?" 

Harm held up a mug. "It finished about 10 minutes ago, but you didn't notice it. I was going to leave you to your thoughts but I figured that you might prefer your coffee while it was still hot, especially since I made it stronger than I've made it in about three years." He grinned at her and handed her the mug, which she took and sipped appreciatively. 

"Mmmm, thanks Harm." 

The two of them remained in comfortable silence for another few minutes while they sipped their coffee, Mac perched on the counter and Harm standing next to her. It was Harm who spoke up first. 

"What are we going to do? About you, I mean. And Ali and Rob and everything else, like where you're going to live. I mean, I'd love to have you stay here, but..."

"But what?"

"Well lets just say that it wouldn't go down too well and I think that a motel would be better." 

Mac looked mildly hurt. "Look, if you don't want me to stay then all you have to do is say so."

"It's nothing like that. Don't get me wrong, I mean, I love having you around here and I'd like nothing better than for you to stay here while you're sorting everything out, but if you stay with me then people are bound to take it the wrong way and you know what kinds of nasty rumours can be kicked up by something like you're staying here."

Mac started at Harm. "The wrong way? What do you mean the wrong way?"

"Well I mean that they could take it..."

"No, I know how they could take it. What I mean is _how_ could they take it the wrong way. I mean, I'm not even divorced yet. I left my abusive husband and came back to my old home so that I could escape him and get help from my friends, namely you, seeing as you're my best friend."

"And that is exactly my point. Just look at it form an outsider's perspective. You left your abusive husband and came back to DC where you best friend, who just _happens_ to be male, is waiting and willing to help you through it. You spend all your time with him and people automatically assume that you're having an affair with him because you can't be with your husband so he's the next best thing, or something like that. You know, with the husband out of the picture, then old feelings can rekindle, or whatever."

Neither of them paid any attention to his last comment, however neither of them were aware of how close to the truth it came, for Harm at least. He was finally starting to get used to the idea of not being able to see Mac and it had been three years. Now that he was able to see her again, he was remembering why he had fallen in love with her in the first place and was starting to fall in love with her all over again. As for Mac, she wasn't exactly thinking about her relationship with Harm, being somewhat preoccupied with everything else that was going on. He was there for her and that was all that she cared about. She'd think about relationships later, after her divorce was over.

Mac stared at him aghast. "You think that's how people see me!? As someone who as soon as it doesn't work out she immediately gives up and moves on to the next person. You really think that I'd do something like that?" Harm read anger and hurt in her voice and expression and realised that she thought that what he was saying was what _he_ felt, or at least believed that everyone else would take that attitude. 

"Oh, no Mac that's not what I'm saying at all. What I mean is that it's one of the ways that people could view you're living with me. _I _certainly don't think of it like that and I know that anyone who knows you won't either, but remember that a lot of the people who worked in the office when you were there have gone now and most of the ones how are there now don't know you. If they learned that you were staying with me then you know that they'd automatically assume something was going on. If your best friend was a girl and you went to stay with her, then no one would think twice about it. Unfortunately society seems to make assumptions that if you're close to another member of the opposite sex then that automatically makes you involved. It's stupid, but we can't help the way that people think. I promise you it's _nothing_ to do with you and you should know me well enough by now to know that I'd never turn you away when you needed help."

Mac dejectedly. "Deep down I know that, Harm, but you try telling that to my brain. I'm having serious insecurity issues, abandonment ones too. I mean, for all I know you could just stop caring all of a sudden just like Rob did and then you could turn on me or worse, just leave me to deal with everything on my own." By this point tears were welling in Mac's eyes and she turned her head to stare back out the window again so that Harm wouldn't see them. "I know that you wouldn't do that, but something inside me makes me terrified that I'm going to lose you too, just like I lost Rob and then but for Ali I'd be totally alone. And Ali, what if something happens to her? What if Rob tries to take custody rights? What if..." she trailed off until her voice was barely audible. "What if he tried to hurt her, to get back at me?"

"Mac look at me." Harm told her. Mac did not respond but continued to look outside at the grey concrete pathway below her. "Mac please, look at me." He asked again, reaching up and turning her tear-stained face gently towards him. It hurt him to see her in tears and he realised just how much all of this must be wearing on her. 

"Listen to me, Sarah. I'm not going to let anything happen to you, okay? I'm going to keep both you and Ali safe no matter what. If you really want to stay here with me then that's fine with me, I have no objections. I was just worried about how it would look, but if you're fine with it then so am I. You're my best friend and I'm going to do everything to make this as easy for you as I can. You got that?"

Mac sniffled and nodded and Harm pulled her to him, wrapping his arms protectively around her, rubbing his hand soothingly over her back. He picked her up and carried her over to the sofa, where he sat down with her in his lap and preceded to rock her as you would a little child. Her breathing became more regular as she calmed down and her tight grip on him gradually loosened. It wasn't until about 10 minutes later when he stopped rocking her that he realised that she had fallen asleep. He got up gently and laid her down on the couch, taking a moment to admire her sleeping form. Unable to tear his eyes away from her, he sat back down on the couch, this time behind her head, and was contented to watch her sleep. On impulse, he leaned down and placed a delicate kiss on her forehead.

"I still love you, you know." He whispered to his sleeping once-again-partner. He lay back against the back of the sofa and was about to close his eyes when he noticed a movement from the doorway. He beckoned to Ali and the little toddler toddled over to him and held out her arms, indicating that she wanted to be lifted up. He lifted Ali into his lap and marvelled over the fact that she looked less tired than her mother.

Of course, she wasn't up all night with less then two hours of sleep before insisting that she head off to JAG headquarters with me. 

"Unca Harm." Ali whispered, taking in the silence around her. For a two year old she was incredible intelligent.

Well what do you expect with a mother like hers?

"What is it Ali?"

"I'm hungry." she stated. Harm had to make an effort to keep from laughing out loud. 

Not only is she as smart as her mother but she has also inherited her mother's insatiable appetite. He smiled to himself. He was really starting to like Ali a lot.

"Okay then, Macken - ... er, Casey. Lets get you fed. How would you like some ice cream?"

Ali's eyes lit up and she nodded enthusiastically. Harm knew that he shouldn't really be giving her ice cream at such an early hour, but he just couldn't help spoiling her.

"Okay then. What say we get you some ice cream and a bowl for mummy when she wakes up, huh?" The two year old nodded solemnly in agreement and Harm picked her up off his lap and carried her into the kitchen. 

Wednesday, 2234

Harm's apartment

Mac lay on the sofa in her pyjamas thinking about all that had happened over the last 24 hours. It had been 24 hours ago, 26 if you counted the time difference, that Rob had arrived home and everything had started. _No, it started long before that, but last night just went too far, and once he had gone that far I knew that if I was to stay then he'd do the same thing again. Better to leave sooner rather than later and save myself and Ali a lot of pain._ She started up at the ceiling, deep in thought. She had, against better judgement, decided to stay at Harm's, at least for tonight. She knew that continuing to stay with him was probably not the best idea, but she didn't feel that she could have faced a night alone in a hotel with just her and Ali. Hotels always made her feel cut off from the rest of the population. Despite there being people either side of her, she always felt so alone when staying in hotels. By staying with Harm, she was not only able to eliminate the feeling of loneliness but she felt comforted by his presence. As long as he was with her, she wasn't nearly as afraid of something happening to her or Ali. _He's kind of like my security blanket, in a way. I take him with me whenever I can and he makes me feel safer_ She snickered at the thought of him as her security blanked and wondered what he would say to such a thing. 

Mac got up to check on Ali, who was sleeping peacefully in Harm's bed. Her mind at ease, she returned to the sofa where she had been lying. She flopped back down onto her back, exhausted after such a long day. The day had been spent discussing things with Harm, the main thing being the divorce. She knew that some people might think that filing for a divorce over just one significant incident as foolish, or rushed or something done in the heat of the moment, but the truth of it was; she no longer loved Rob. She tried to, but it just didn't work. He wasn't the same man whom she had married. He was no longer the sweet charming man who made her feel special. He was now just a drunk who had no love his daughter and little more for his wife. Mac knew that she couldn't organise the whole divorce without at least consulting Rob a few times, but she had been reluctant to call him and Harm had suggested that she wait until the weekend and call him when she were more relaxed. So although she had started organising various details of the divorce, nothing had been finalised and there was still a lot of stuff to go. 

She looked up and smiled when Harm walked back into the room. 

"Hey Marine, you shouldn't be up this late. You should be in bed catching up on lost sleep." 

Mac shrugged. "I was about to go to bed. You going to turn in anytime soon?"

"Yeah, I think that I'll just grab a shower first then do what you should be doing and sleep."

"Sounds good. Well, I'm off to bed now. I'll see you tomorrow morning." Harm gave Mac a hug then headed off to have a shower.

Wednesday, 1945, LA time

Casey residence 

Robert Casey had arrived home from work to find that neither Sarah nor Ali were there. Not that he had expected them to be. He knew that Sarah had gone somewhere but it didn't take a genius to work out where. After checking the local hotels he had driven to the airport in hopes of finding her car parked there. He of course had not found it, given the enormity of the carparks. He had gone in and up to the inquiries desk in hopes of finding out where she had gone to. He was pretty sure that if she was going to fly anywhere then it would be to DC, however he wanted confirmation.

"Oh hey, Rob. What are you doing here."

"Hi Mike. I'm looking for some info. My wife came through here last night and I'm pretty sure that she bough a ticket and flew out to DC. I want to find out which flight she took. Is that possible?"

"You know I'm not allowed to give out that sort of information, Rob. It's confidential and I could get into a lot of trouble for telling you."

"Oh come one Mike. Please_? I have to know."_

"All right then, but I can't promise you anything. Hang on a second. No I'm sorry but we don't have any Casey's in the last 48 hours."

"But she has to have been through here. I just know it."

"Well I'm sorry but there's really nothing I can do. I mean, unless she's using a different name then she didn't come through here. Are you sure that flew out, Rob."

"Yes I am. Hang on. Try Mackenzie. M - A - C - K - E - N - Z - I - E. Mackenzie."

"Mackenzie?"

"Yeah, it's her maiden name."

"Looks like she still has a account under her maiden name. We have a Sarah Mackenzie in the system from last night. She bought two tickets. One adult and one child."

"Thanks Mike." 

"No probs. So tell me, Rob, what's this all about..."

Rob stared at the phone. He wanted to call Sarah, but he wasn't sure how to reach her. Her mobile had been turned off all day and he had no other way of reaching her. Unless...

Rob went into the kitchen and shuffled through a stack of papers until he found the desired document. It was the telephone bill, which listed all the numbers that had been called in the last month. On number appeared every week without fail. It was the number that had started their fight last night. Taking the sheet of paper over to where the phone was, Robert Casey picked up the phone and, without a though as to time differences even registering in his brain, dialled the interstate number. 

Wednesday, 2247, DC time

Harm's apartment

Mac was just getting off the couch and was heading towards the spare room when the phone rang. _Who on earth rings at this time of night? I don't know anyone who would even consider ringing Harm so late... _a smile formed on Mac's face _except for me. I could always call at anytime and he would be happy to talk to me. _Mac debated for a moment whether or not to pick up the phone. Harm was still in the shower and wasn't going to be able to answer it, and if she let it keep ringing then it was likely to wake Ali. Left with no other option she picked up the phone.

"Hello?"

Mwahahaha, aren't I evil, ending it like that? I wasn't going to give you guys another chapter before Christmas but as I said, I got the review I asked for so I'm keeping my end of the deal. All of you who reviewed can have some Christmas pudding and for those of you who review this chapter, I will bake you some muffins =)

This chapter was almost not going to get posted, as this afternoon I hadn't even started it. But now it's done and any mistakes you find I am blaming on the fact that it now just after 1:00am and tis Christmas eve eve, meaning that there are only 2 days left until Christmas. YAY!!! 

Thanks heaps to Chris who pointed out to me that 1) Harm doesn't have a spare room and 2) his room does not have a door. It has been corrected.

Merry Christmas to you all and God bless you


	6. Explanations

Chapter 6

Home is where your best friend is

Wednesday, 2247, DC time

Harm's apartment

"Hello?"

"Sarah?"

Oh hell, now I know what Harm meant about people getting the wrong idea. It's 2247 and I've just answered the phone in Harm's apartment. Rob is bound to get the wrong idea. Oh man, I am so _dead. _Mac tried to figure out how she could possibly avoid Rob, however no ideas came to her, so she did the only thing she could do in the situation and talked to him. She only wished that she had Harm with her for moral support. But she didn't, because he was still in the shower. 

_Mmmmm, Harm in the shower..._ Mac's mind drifted off to the shower where Harm was and conjured up a few images that most definitely should _not_ have been there. _Stop it Mackenzie. You're a married woman...although not for much longer _She smiled to herself. 

"Sarah? Are you there?" Mac's mind was torn from her thoughts and back to reality by the sound of her husband's voice on the other end of the phone. 

"Uh, yeah. Hi. How did you know where to find me?" she asked, mentally kicking herself the moment the words were out of her mouth. _Way to go. Could you have said anything stupider to him? That was about the most idiotic thing to ask, not to mention I don't want to know his answer, or how he got that answer. What was I thinking....who am I kidding. I'm not thinking at all..._

Rob's retort was angry. "I knew that you'd be there, Sarah. I never could trust you, could I? The first sign of something going wrong and you immediately run off to _his_ place. How dare you?"

Mac listened disbelievingly. "So you found me. Now what?" she asked coolly.

"What do you mean, now what. Now you come back home, where you ought to be. I came home this evening and I had to cook my own dinner." he said, as though the idea was completely ludicrous. "Oh, and I didn't have an ironed shirt to wear this morning. When you got home you're going to really have to work on not being so lazy."

At this point Harm entered the room, dressed only in his boxers and a t-shirt, and came to stand near Mac, listening intently to her side of the conversation. 

"Lazy!?" Mac shook her head in disbelief, despite the fact that he couldn't see her and vice versa. "You complain if I don't have dinner on the table for you when you come home every night, which might I add is in a highly drunken state nine out of ten times, and you're calling _me _lazy? You're perfectly capable of looking after yourself. But tell me something. Is that all you see me as good for? A maid to do everything for you?

Harm watched as Mac's expression grew from one of annoyance and mild anger to one of utmost rage.

"Why, you lousy, egotistical, revolting, gutter-minded..."

She was cut off by his retort and Harm tried to guess what he was currently saying - he already had a good idea what Rob had said in his last comment.

"No, I will not. No....NO, I won't do that either. Why? Why!? Because I'm not coming back. That's why."

Harm caught a flash of anger in Mac's eyes, as she looked up and saw him standing 

"....you're saying?"

"Yes that's exactly what I'm saying. I want a divorce."

Her words hung in the air and to Harm they seemed so final. It didn't matter whether Rob had considered a divorce or not. Mac knew that it was what she wanted and Harm knew that, being as stubborn as she was, she was going to get her way. 

It was about 20 seconds before Rob made any sound, and when he did he absolutely exploded. "You take off from here without a word, hop onto a plane and then casually over the phone decide that you suddenly want a divorce!? Just who the hell do you think you are?"

" Lieutenant Colonel Sarah Mackenzie of the USMC, sir!" she shouted, making it sound like she was once again at boot camp.

Harm smirked as he heard her reply. Damn, she did those marines proud. _Semper Fi, Mac _

"Mackenzie-Casey, you mean." 

"No, I don't." She replied icily. "I'm sick of you Rob. You changed and you don't even care any more. I've tried to keep loving you, but the truth of it is, you're not the person I married. He was nice, sweet, sensitive, would never have even drunk in my presence, let alone get drunk in front of me**.** He also _respected _my feelings and would have actually cared about our daughter. You're not him." Mac took a deep breath and continued. "It's over, Robert. You, me, us. It's over. I was going to call you anyway to tell you that I'm filing for a divorce as soon as I can." 

"What!? You mean you're actually serious about a divorce? No, you can't be serious."

"Oh yes I can, and I am deadly serious. I want a divorce."

"But..."

"But what, Robert? You know as well as I do that there is nothing left between us. I've tried multiple times to do things to save our marriage, but nothing has worked."

"What do you mean, things to save our marriage?"

"See that's my point. You didn't even notice them. Things such as the time I booked the holiday beach resort up on the coast for the valentines day weekend."

"Yeah, and spent most of the time dragging us around after that other couple." He added bitterly.

"That was Bud and Harriet, who I hadn't seen in ages. And we didn't spend the whole weekend with them, just one evening. If you will recall, the other two days were spent with me sitting alone by the pool while you went and got trashed at the casino bar." Mac was getting angry now. How dare he make it sound like it was all her fault, when she had honestly tried her hardest to keep their marriage from failing.

"Yeah, well if it weren't for-"

"Shut up, Rob." Mac said angrily. Rob stopped, shocked. Ever since Ali had been born she hadn't ever really stood up to him, out of fear for what he could do to Ali. Now that he was many states away, she had no problem in doing so.

"What did you just say?" He asked her, articulating each word with a deliberate clarity. 

"I told you to shut up. I don't want to hear about how everything is my fault, because I know that it's not. I'm sick of being ordered around by you. Now it's your turn to do what I say, and I say that we're getting a divorce."

"Oh what the hell do I care, you haven't been worth much to me since…."

Mac cut him off. "How does this sound? I want full custody of Ali, the furnishings and other assets I brought with me from DC, my car and exactly half of the money from our joint account. You can have all the rest of the assets, the house the other half of the account. I don't want anything else, I just want out of this marriage. I'll have my lawyer contact you with a detailed list. " 

Mac knew that this was bound to get his attention. Even though they had a joint checking account, Mac had two other accounts. One was the emergency one that she had pulled at the airport and the other one was another savings account, also under her maiden name, into which she put all extra earnings that didn't go directly into her account from her office. Things such as payments from individual clients, which went directly from the clients to her without going through the office, went into her savings account and when people asked for an account to put the money into, she gave them her savings one. As a result, she had around $56 000 that Rob didn't know about. It was a good thing that being a lawyer paid so well. Even giving Rob half the money in all their joint accounts and the rest of their assets, such as the house, she would still have plenty to start over in DC.

"All the assets?" Mac could picture his face lighting up at the prospect. 

"Not all, but a fair amount. You get half the money plus the whole house and the majority of what's in it and I get what I want. Fair?" 

"Yeah, whatever. Fine. But how come you assume that I don't want joint custody?" 

Mac looked at Harm and rolled her eyes. 

"Oh, please. You never cared about Ali. Why start now. We all know that you'd soon enough win the 'worst father of the year' award. And besides, there is no way any judge would give joint custody to a drunk, you'd be lucky if you were even allowed supervised visitation!"

"Yeah, well, it's not my fault that I was never much of a father to Ali. I mean, it's kind of hard to try and be a father to someone when you know that you're _not_ their father."

"Not that father!? What the hell are you talking about?"

"You know what I'm talking about. That trip that you went on to DC to see a 'client'. Ring any bells?"

Mac's mouth went dry as she realised what he was implying. That trip had taken place around five weeks before she had discovered that she was pregnant. 

"Yes as a matter of fact it does. I put all of the client's affairs in order and represented him in court then came back home."

"Put his _affairs_ in order, did you? "

"What the hell are you implying, Rob?" she spat, knowing exactly what he was implying. 

"You know very well, bitch. It was about four or five weeks after you came back from that trip that you found out that you were pregnant."

Mac was stunned. How could he have possibly thought her unfaithful to him? A thought suddenly struck her.

"That's why you were trying to beat Ali. You said that she was the cause of all the problems in the house. That's what you meant." she said quietly, her brain still trying to process everything.

"You know, for someone who everyone says is a really smart lawyer, you can be incredibly slow on the uptake, you know." He taunted. 

"You're a nasty man, you know that? And to think that I actually used to love you."

"Whatever, tell your boyfriend hey for me and that I hope he enjoys you."

"He is _not_ my boyfriend. He is my best friend, nothing more, nothing less, and has been so for the last 7 years."

"Whatever, liar." came the taunting reply

Mac grew even angrier. "If you think that I'd actually cheat on you, for whatever reason, then you obviously never knew me. Go to hell, Rob." she snapped before slamming the phone back onto the hook.

She leaned back into Harm and began to cry. She turned around and buried her head in his chest and he held her close.

"It's not fair." she sobbed, her voice somewhat muffled. "All I want is to be happy. Is that such a hard thing. I thought that it was just him that had changed and I couldn't work out why. And now I find out that it's because he didn't trust me. Not even for the first year." She cried even harder and held onto Harm as if her life depended on it. He picked her up and carried her to his bedroom where he lay her down on the side of his bed. She curled up into a ball and wrapped her arms around her knees. Harm pulled the covers over her and went to leave. 

"Don't go. I don't think I can stand being alone again. I already feel so alone. Please, Harm. Stay with me."

Harm walked around to the other side of the bed and sat down with his back resting against the wall and pulled Mac's head into his lap.

"Shhh, marine. You're going to be okay. I promise you that. And you know that I always keep my promises."

He absent-mindedly stroked her hair and she soon stopped crying and fell into an exhausted sleep.

So peoples, what did you think? Sorry I haven't updated for so long, but you know, its been Christmas and whatever and I have been kinda busy....not to mention that our internet keeps dropping out. As always, I LOVE REVIEWS!!!!  
Anyone who reviews will get a chocolate brownie! Oh, and a HUGE thank you to Chris for helping me fix my mistakes and to Bekki who didn't kill me when she found out where my plot was going to go. 


	7. Apartments and Lawyers

Chapter 7

Home is where your best friend is

Thursday 1830 

Outside room 178

A hotel in DC

Mac fumbled with the keycard in her right hand, attempting to swipe it so  
that she could get the door to her hotel room open. The only problem she  
was having came from having a sleeping Ali balanced on one hip with her  
right arm and holding a large bag full of food and other items in the other  
arm. Mac fumbled again and this time dropped the keycard. Muttering under  
her breath, she contemplated how to retrieve the keycard without having to  
put anything down. 

"Need some help there?" came a friendly voice to her right. Mac turned and  
saw a young woman in her mid-twenties walking down the neatly carpeted  
hallway towards her. The woman was dressed in a knee length black skirt and  
a short sleeved casual-looking green top. She looked vaguely familiar toMac, although she couldn't place her.

"Yes please, that would be wonderful." Mac replied gratefully. "If you  
could just get my card for me..." she nodded to the card on the floor and  
the woman picked it up and swiped it for her.

"Here let me help you." The woman insisted, taking the bag of groceries from  
Mac's arms. 

"Thanks."

They made their way into the sparsely furnished room where the lady  
dumped the bag onto the counter of the tiny kitchenette. Mac set Ali  
down on the bed and removed her daughter's glasses, setting them on the  
small nightstand. The room was small, however Mac wasn't planning on  
staying in it for long, she had no desire to burn all her money by  
renting expensive suites. When you entered the room there was a double bed  
immediately on the left and on the right, a closet for clothes and other  
items. The closet door slid open to reveal a few drawers, a rack for  
things to hang off and a shelf with a TV on it that could be seen from the  
bed, provided you left the doors open. In the back right corner of the room  
was a small bathroom in the left hand corner was the tiny kitchenette. The  
only furniture in the room apart from the bed was a small table with two  
chairs around it. It wasn't luxury but it would do. 

"Pretty nice room for what I'm paying." Mac stated, turning to the stranger  
in her room. "Mac" she said, holding out her hand and introducing herself  
in her usual minimalistic way.  


"Kara." The woman took her hand and shook it, smiling. Her cheerful  
demeanour reminded Mac somewhat of Harriet. "It's good to meet you, Mac.

Why are you called Mac, if you don't mind me asking?"  
Mac smiled. She preferred straightforward people like Kara to those who  
just looked at her oddly when she said her name, yet didn't dare ask her  
why she was called that. 

"It's short for my last name, Mackenzie." she answered. "I've been going by  
'Mac' ever since boot camp." 

With a jolt Mac realised that she had said that Mackenzie was her surname,  
not her maiden name. What surprised her more was that she really did think  
of Mackenzie as her last name, not Casey or Mackenzie-Casey. 

"Boot camp?" 

"Yeah. United States Marine Corps." 

"Wow cool....or should I say, cool ma'am?" Kara joked, grinning. 

Mac smiled too. She was already starting to feel more relaxed after her  
difficult day. She had spent the day drawing up the divorce papers  
with the divorce lawyer she had hired. Unfortunately, every time she thought that they had finally got it right, something else would occur to her and she would have to go back again to add it. By the end of the day, though, the papers were ready to be faxed off the Rob for his approval. 

"So, why are you staying here?" Kara asked Mac. "That is, if you don't mind  
talking about it. If you don't want to say anything, I completely understand. I'm just curious and like to make friends whenever I can."

"No, it's fine. I actually used to live in DC in a nice apartment but about three years ago I got married and my husband wanted us to move to LA. So we did. Now I'm staying here because I'm moving back to DC."

"That's great. So where are the two, or rather three of you - I'm presuming that she's you're daughter - going to live?"

Mac winced inwardly. "No, you see I'm moving back to DC, with Ali. My husband's not. I've spent all day with my divorce lawyer."

"Oh." Kara replied somewhat embarrassed. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry."

"Naa, don't be. I'm not. I have no desire to live with him any longer. " Mac shrugged. "That's life for you. Some people just aren't what they seem.

"So, why are you here?"

"Oh, I live here. My dad owns the hotel so we kind of don't need a house.Besides, we spend so much time around here anyway that living somewhere else would just end up being an inconvenience. I'm in the room at the end of the hall. So where are you going to live once you move back here? If you don't mind me asking."

"I really don't know. I mean, I had my own apartment before I got married but when we moved I sold it, which means that I have to go apartment hunting now."

"Yuck. I hate apartment hunting."

"I thought you lived here, though."

"I do, but a few years ago I decided that it would be nice to live on my own somewhere else. Believe it or not, it was such a hassle just trying to find an apartment that I gave up without ever moving."

Mac laughed. "Yeah, I know what it's like. In fact, I should probably start tonight because I just know that it's going to take forever for me to find decent one."

"Well in that case, I'll leave you to your apartment hunting." said Kara, eading towards the door. "If you ever find you need anything, you know here to find me"

"Thanks, Kara. I'll see you later. Thanks for helping me bring all my stuff in."

"You're welcome. Bye." 

Mac shut the door after Kara and made sure that it was locked securely. Taking her way over to the counter of the small kitchenette, Mac opened the large bag she had brought and took out the newspaper. She flicked through it until she found the real estate section and pulled it out. Picking up a pen from the bag, she opened up the paper and began looking at all the different apartments for sale or rent.

Same time  
Casey residence   
LA

Robert Casey swore as he tripped over the small bin in the bathroom. He crouched down and began to put things back into the bin when he noticed a bloody tissue. He remembered that it had come from Ali when she had fallen over on Tuesday and scraped her knee on the gravel. As he saw the tissue and an idea popped into his mind. After his conversation with Sarah on Wednesday, something that she had said kept repeating itself in his brain. 

"If you think that I'd actually cheat on you, for whatever reason, then you obviously never knew me."

It was not just her words, however, it was the hurt and disbelief that her voice carried. It made him think that maybe, just maybe, he had been wrong and that he really was the father. Picking up the tissue and dumping the rest of the rubbish back into the bin, he left the house, got into his car and started driving.

Thursday 1930  
Mac's apartment  
Hotel in DC

Mac put down her pen and rubbed her eyes. She had spent over half an hour looking at ads for apartments and not one of them seemed to be suitable for what she wanted. Deciding to give herself a break for a while, she got up and shuffled into the small kitchenette and rummaged through the small freezer and found the TV dinner she had put in there earlier. She took off the plastic wrapping and started it heating in the microwave. While she was waiting for her dinner to heat up, she picked up the phone and dialled a familiar number. She rolled her eyes in annoyance as the answering machine at hers and Rob's house picked up. She had actually wanted to talk to Rob, as it would have made organising details easier, however that was made rather difficult because he wasn't actually there. 

Not that I really expected him to be there. He's probably out at some bar or other getting drunk...the usual 

"...and we'll get back to you as soon as possible." A beep followed the answering machine message. 

"Rob, it's me. I'm just letting you know that my lawyer is sending the divorce papers over to you for you to sign. If you have any problems with what goes to who, call me and we'll work something out."

She hung up with out even saying goodbye and went to sit on the kitchen counter to wait for her dinner. The microwave beeped a minute later and Mac hopped off the kitchen bench and took it over to where her newspaper was. She had just speared the first mouthful of lasagne onto a fork and was about to put it into her mouth when one particular ad caught her attention. She stared at it. It was too good to be true. It was an apartment in Georgetown.

Two bedroom apartment with one bathroom, large kitchen and large living area. Good view of the city and not much noise from traffic. Perfect for one or two. Affordable renting price. 

Mac stared at the picture that accompanied that ad. There was something vaguely familiar about the apartment she was looking at. Inwardly shrugging, she looked at the last part of the ad and did a double take when she saw what was written there. 

2812, The Washington building  
Apartment 202  
Georgetown 

It was the address of the apartment for sale. Not just any apartment, though. It was across the hall from the apartment she had lived in before she had married Rob. She couldn't believe her luck. Getting her old apartment building back would definitely be a bonus, and without a second thought she picked up the phone and dialled the phone number and waited for the person on the other end to pick up. 

Thursday 1630 LA time 

Casey Residence Robert Casey sat in his living room, randomly flicking through the TV channels, not paying the least attention to what was showing. Bored, he went over to the fridge and took out a beer, glad that he could now keep alcohol at home. At first he had never consumed any alcohol when Sarah was around, however after a while it had changed to just one drink in her presence, then two, then three... Soon he wasn't even bothering to offer not to drink when she was around. After all, everyone else was drinking, why shouldn't he?

Surely she was used to it. She had drawn the line, however, at having any alcohol stored in the house. He was usually able to sway her decisions in other matters, however this was one matter on which her opinion would not change. Now that she was gone, however, he was able to store whatever liquor he wanted. Maybe being single again wasn't such a bad thing. 

He walked back over to the couch and sat down again, just as bored as hehad been thirty seconds before. The people at the medical centre had toldhim that they could have the results to him in 6 weeks at the earliest. Not that that bothered him. The divorce would take at least 6 months to go through, so he would have plenty of time for..... whatever it was. It all depended on the results of the DNA test. 

The phone rang, but Rob couldn't be bothered to pick it up. He usually wasn't home at this time anyway, so it wouldn't matter if he didn't answer it. Whoever it was could leave a message.

He heard the answering machine pick up and Sarah's recorded voice floated across the room to him.

"Hi, you've reached Rob and Sarah. We're not here right now, so just leave a message and we'll get back to you as soon as possible."

A beep followed the recording and Rob was startled to hear Sarah's voice again, but this time not recorded.

"Rob, it's me. I'm just letting you know that my lawyer is sending the divorce papers over to you for you to sign. If you have any problems with what goes to who, call me and we'll work something out."

There was a click as she hung up and the whirr of the tape rewinding to the beginning of the message.

A/N: ok, so that chapter was pointless with virtually nothing happening. I apologise for that, but I had a nasty battle with the evil Count Writers-Block. Never fear, however, because I beat him with my shiny sword. All is well now. 

And for those of you who asked, yes, I will mail you your brownies, only I think that they may take a while to get to you, considering that they'll have to come from Sydney. And no, I can't afford self-refrigerated envelopes. 


	8. Please, Baby

Chapter 8

Home is where your best friend is

A/N: because the last chapter was so pointless I have decided that I'll give you another chapter at the same time, just because I feel like being nice and I've been drinking way too much red cordial. Anyway, enough of that. Onto the story. ****

Friday 0214

She was standing at the window of Harm's apartment, looking out at he snow. She heard footsteps behind her and a moment later a pair of warm arms slid around her waist, pulling her into a comforting embrace. 

"Sarah" He breathed, making her shiver delicately at the use of her first name. She felt the hands move from her waist to her arms, where they gently turned her around to face him. 

"Sarah, you have no idea how much I love you."

"I love you, Harm."

He pulled her closer to him and bent down slightly, capturing her lips in a passionate kiss. Her arms snaked around his neck and she deepened the kiss, her lips silently begging for more, the heat surging through her. His hands made their way up and under her shirt, moving carefully over the smooth skin of her back, making her gasp at the sensations he caused her. She fumbled with the buttons of his shirt, pushing it down off his shoulders. His hands moved around to the front then wandered higher, eliciting a low moan from her. The two of them began to move in the direction of Harm's bedroom. As they neared it, her foot caught on the corner of the chair and she tripped and fell...

*THUD*

Friday 0214

Room 178

A hotel in DC

Sarah Mackenzie fell onto the hard (but thankfully carpeted) floor of her hotel room. She bit back the stream of curses that immediately came to mind, the majority of which had been picked up from some particularly foul mouthed marines she had been at boot camp with, and were most definitely not suitable to be uttering around Ali, regardless of whether she was asleep or not. After getting herself a drink of water, Mac climbed into bed and tried to go back to sleep. Unfortunately for her, every time she shut her eyes all she could seem to see was Harm. She tried everything including counting sheep, however even the non-existent sheep were against her and within minutes all the sheep in her mind were either baaing 'Ha-a-arm' or had turned into tomcats for her to count. Had it been some other time then she may have found the tricks her mind was playing on her quite amusing, as no doubt Harm would too, but she was tired and wanted to go back to sleep. She sighed. It was going to be a long night. 

Damn him

Friday 0736

Room 178

A hotel in DC

Mac lay awake staring up at the ceiling, as she had been doing for the last six minutes and twelve seconds. She wondered vaguely why she was staring at it, because it was boring as hell -- plain white with not a single pattern to occupy her wandering eyes. Suddenly deciding that she was bored, she drew her eyes away from the ceiling and looked instead at her peacefully sleeping daughter. She reached out and stroked Ali's hair absent-mindedly, marvelling at how incredible her daughter was. It never ceased to amaze her, even after almost three years, that she had actually created such a beautiful thing. 

In her minds eye she suddenly pictured herself holding another child, a son, who had piercingly green eyes. Awfully familiar green eyes, with no doubt as to exactly whose eyes they were. Thinking about Harm and children at the same time conjured up fond memories of her watching him with little AJ. Mac had marveled at how natural Harm had been at taking care of AJ. The most memorable occasion that came to mind, however, was the day of AJ's birth. She could still remember standing outside the JAG headquarters and making their deal, all those years ago. She realised with a jolt that AJ was actually not quite five years old yet...although his fifth birthday was just around the corner. If Harm was to bring up the subject then she felt that she might actually be tempted to still take him up on the deal. 

She knew that to some, her even _considering_ something like that would seem disgraceful given the circumstances of her private life, however the last day or so had made her realise a few things. The first was that she really wasn't awfully upset about the prospect of divorcing Rob -- she was more hurt by the fact that he had never really trusted her. The second thing that she realised, and that scared her, was that being back in DC and once again single (or close enough) she was falling for Harm all over again, and she knew it. She had been sure that she was over him, but last night's dream, among other things, had made it painfully clear that she was most certainly _not _over him. She sighed. Maybe this time she would actually give it a try. After all, she had nothing to lose.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Over the next few weeks the divorce papers were finalised and signed and now all Mac had to do was wait for it to be processed. She and Ali had moved into heir new apartment in Mac's old apartment building and they loved it. Mac was loving being back at JAG and Ali was fitting right in at her new daycare centre, with little AJ taking care of her as though he were her big brother. Mac and Harm were getting along wonderfully and in general, everything was running smoothly. That is, until about 6 weeks after Mac had left, when Rob called. Called to say that he was sorry and had realised what a jerk he had been and that he wanted Mac to come back. It had all been too much for Mac, who had been in her office when the phone had rung, breaking her train of thought on the Henderson case. Rob had then proceeded to beg her to cancel the divorce and return 'home'. The thing was, Mac felt for the first time in years sheactually was home. ****To a lot of people, home was where their loved ones were, or where they grew up, but to Mac, home was where her best friend was. 

"Please Sarah, I'm begging you. Come home."

"I already am home, Rob. DC is home to me. I've already made up my mind. I'm not coming back to you." She stated firmly, finding it more and more difficult to say no. Damn him! Why did he have to seem so sweet all of a sudden?

"But Sarah, I love you. I know I've made mistakes and screwed up, but I have realised what an idiot I've been and I just want you back. Please, baby, I...."

It was the tender endearment that almost broke her resolve. "Stop it!" she interrupted. It was just so hard not to give in. The man on the other end of the phone was suddenly once again the man she had originally married. The kind, sweet, sensitive Rob. 

"Just leave me alone, Rob. I'm staying here and that's final. Please don't call me again, especially not at work."

She slammed down the phone and buried her head in her hands_,_ fighting back the tears that were creating a burning sensation behind her eyelids. She knew rationally that she shouldn't listen to Rob, that she should just keep on moving forwards, for her own good and Ali's. Another part of her, however, argued that she should give Rob a second chance, that maybe he really wassorry and willing to change. 

Overwhelmed with conflicting emotions and with no idea what to do, she shoved back her chair and walked across the bullpen, still fighting back the tears, to Harm's office.

"Hey sailor. Got a minute for a friend?" she asked quietly, standing in the doorway, her voice catching, making him look up, immediately concerned. 

" I'll always have a minute for a friend, and for my best friend, a lifetime." He told her seriously. "What's wrong?" he asked, pulling her in and closing the door and the blinds.

His kindness, on top of her uncertainties about Rob, was just too much for her to handle and the tears she had fought so hard to keep at bay leaked out of her eyes. Harm said nothing but silently held out his arms. Sobbing, she allowed herself to be drawn into his comforting embrace, her face buried in his shoulder while he stroked her hair. When she had calmed down a bit he spoke.

"What's up, Sarah." Harm asked gently, genuinely concerned for Mac. There were only a very small amount of times he had seen her cry, the last of which had been after she had left Rob. Somehow this was different, he thought. He could tell that she wasn't crying because she was hurt or upset or mad. No, she looked more like a lost little girl, crying because she didn't know what to do. He reached up to her face and wiped her tears away with his thumbs, relishing the feel of her soft skin beneath his**.** Any excuse to touch her.... not that he would wish this upon her.

"What is it, Mac. I'm your best friend. You can tell me." She looked up at him and gave him a watery smile. 

"Yeah, you are my best friend. Thanks for that." 

Harm smiled and guided her over to a chair in his office and sat her down and knelt in front of her, so that his eyes were level with hers. He looked so kind, so caring, that soon Mac was relating the whole tale to him, the words tumbling out of her mouth. She told him of how scared she was, how she felt guilty over leaving Rob , how part of her felt that she ought to give Rob another chance and how she was scared that she could be unintentionally hurting Ali. Harm sat down next to her and wrapped his arms around her, gently reassuring her. 

Half an hour later, when she left, Harm pulled her in for one last reassuring hug and placed a light kiss on the top of her head. 

"You'll be fine, ninja girl. I know you will." 

A/N: So......do you like it? Like where its going. I promise that in the next few chapters there will be some Mac/Harm shippiness.... amid some good old angst, of course. 


	9. The Family Season

****

Chapter 9

Home is where your best friend is

A/N: Yes, I realise that its nowhere near Christmas at the moment, but in the story it was Christmas time, so of course I had to write a Christmas chapter. But don't complain, because I promise that this chapter will be a happy one for all you shippers - it features our good friends Harm, Mac, Harriet and a bunch of mistletoe. *grins* That got you interested, didn't it.

I also have to say that unfortunately my chapters are going to be even longer in coming out because school holidays are now over, so I'm going to have even less time to write.

December 17, 1745

Washington Mall

As Christmas rapidly approached them, Mac became more accustomed to the routine that she was falling back into after three years, but at the same time she became more uneasy about her life, not to mention that her emotional state could only be described as shocking. With the holiday season upon them, snow, brightly decorated Christmas trees, and decorations everywhere you looked, she was having a rather hard time with the whole 'family season' thing. 

For her, Christmas had always been anything but a happy family time, up until she met Harm and the rest of the JAG crew. They had become her surrogate family, and for that she was grateful. This year, on the other hand, she was feeling rather lost. True, she had been welcomed back home with open arms, however her last three Christmases had been spent with Rob, and last year they had spent it as an actual family. Now, she had only Ali to spend her Christmas with and her not yet finalised divorce was always weighing heavily on her mind. To make matters worse, Rob had called her numerous times begging her to come back to him, saying that he had realised all his mistakes and that he really did want her - and Ali too - back with him. Harm and Harriet had tried to stress to her that it was _not _a good idea to listen to him, and that she should not feel guilty for still wanting a divorce. Despite all their support, however, it was still hard not to feel guilty over everything that had happened, although it was getting easier, especially since Rob's confession during his last phone call.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

__

"....but I really want you back Sarah."

"How many times do I have to tell you, Rob. I am not going to come back to you."

"But I love you."

"No, you don't. If you loved me, then you wouldn't have gotten repeatedly drunk in front of me, you wouldn't have hurled insults at me and you most certainly would not have tried to hit my daughter."

"Our daughter."

"Funny," came her icy retort. "You never seemed to think of her as such. Why the sudden change of heart."

"I've come to realise that you two are the most important things in my life."

"No. I don't believe you. If we were the most important things in your sad pathetic life, then you wouldn't have treated us the way you did." she bit back angrily.

"That was all just a misunderstanding." He tried to reason, making it sound as though it were something minor, like someone getting the wrong address for a party. "I thought that he _was her father, but I got DNA tests back and they prove that she really is mine. I'd really like for the two of you come back home and we can start again."_

She was absolutely appalled as she realised what he was saying. "Are you trying to tell me that you didn't trust me enough to believe that I would never cheat on you. You didn't even believe that our child was yours, and consequently treated us both atrociously because of it and you now just want us to put it all behind us because it was, quote 'a misunderstanding', unquote? Well, I have news for you. I loved you when I married you, I really did, but yourbehaviour towards me was what tore us apart. I tried to keep loving you, but you just made it impossible. What you tried to do to Ali is inexcusable and if there's one thing that I wont tolerate it's an abusive alcoholic father. I don't love you anymore Rob, so get used to it and for goodness sake, stop calling me. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mac shook her head as she recalled the conversation. She was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she didn't watch where she was going. As she turned the corner, she ran headlong into a tall man, knocking his bundles of packages out of his arms. 

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry --" She stopped mid sentence as she looked up and realised who she had run into. 

"Penny for what I would guess to be your highly interesting thoughts, marine." Harm chuckled as the two of them bent down to retrieve his dropped packages. 

Mac sighed. She may as well tell him the truth, seeing as he would see right through a lie anyway. "Just stuff. You know, the season of love and joy and family and I don't seem to have any of them. I guess I'm just feeling lonely and sorry for myself."

"Hey, you shouldn't be so depressed so close to Christmas. For a start you've got a family standing right next to you holding your hand." He turned his attention to the object of his words and greeted the small bespectacled toddler. "Hiya Ali. How are you today?" 

"I'm good, Unca Harm. Mummy and me are going Kissmas shopping." she told him excitedly, bouncing up and down on the spot. 

"Wow, that sounds like fun. Do you think I could join you?" he asked her, placing a kiss on the tip of her nose.

Ali giggled. "Can he, mamma? Pleeeeeeeeease?" she begged, her face lighting up at the prospect of spending some more time with her favourite grown up apart from her mamma. 

"Well...." Mac pretended to think hard about it. "I suppose that you could come along, but only if you promise to be good, Navy."

"I promise."

"Good. Then come join us."

They spent the next few hours happily wandering the shops, Mac and Harm talking comfortably about everything and nothing, with Mac carrying most of their bags while Ali was perched on her new favourite travelling spot - Harm's shoulders. After buying gifts for everyone but each other, they lapsed into comfortable silence, both wondering what to buy the other. Their friendship had reached a level where they were as comfortable around each other as they had been before Mac met Rob. Unfortunately, this meant that the tension between them had also returned, but this time it was different. They both knew that the other harboured feelings toward them, but neither was sure of the extent of those feelings. The main difference though, was that both of them saw this as a second chance and neither was going to let it get away from them this time. They had made too many mistakes regarding each other and both were determined to find happiness. 

As they walked past a jewellery shop, one particular item caught Harm's eye. He stopped and looked in the window, contemplating whether or not it would be a good idea to buy it. She would absolutely kill him for spending so much money on her..... but it would be worth it to see her face and it would be a great way to let her know how important she was to him. 

"Hey Mac, I'm just going to duck into this store. I think I see something that mum would really like." He told her.

"Sure thing. You want me to come and make sure that she'll like what you're getting her?"

Harm panicked for a moment. She wasn't meant to come in with him. How could he possibly buy her present with her looking over his shoulder.

"Naa, its okay thanks Mac. Besides, she doesn't believe that I'm capable of picking out something nice all by myself and I plan on proving her wrong." Mac gave him a sceptical look, as if to say 'I don't trust you to pick out jewellery either'. 

_Ha _ He thought _ Just you wait, marine. I'll show you that I can pick out good jewellery _

"Hey, if it'll make you feel any better I promise that I'll show you whatever I get her before I send it to her, alright. That way if it is truly hideous you can tell me so and I don't have to go through the embarrassment of sending her something she won't ever wear."

Mac laughed and shook her head. "Alright then sailor, I'll let you go in alone, but if you need help then make sure you ask me, alright. I'll just be getting a coffee form over there." she said pointing to a small café to their right. "Do you want me to order you a coffee too?"

"Yeah, that would be great thanks. Do you think that you could take this little munchkin with you?" He asked her, lifting Ali off his shoulders. 

"Sure. As long as you take a few extra bags for me." They made a swap, with Harm relieving Mac of the bags on her right arm and placing Ali there instead. 

"I'll meet you in the café in 10, alright?"

"Sure thing, Harm."

Harm watched and waited until Mac sat down at a table in the café before entering the jewellery store. He went over to the display window and took another look at what he had seen. 

"Can I help you?" a pretty redhead shop assistant asked him. He turned around, smiling.

"Yes please. I'd like to have a look at that chain there." He said, pointing. 

"Of course." the shop assistant pulled a set of keys out of her pocket and opened up the glass display case, reaching in and pulling out the desired item. She placed it in Harm's awaiting hands and he admired it. 

It was a long delicate chain, made entirely from rose gold. On the fine chain hung a tear drop diamond pendant, encased in the same rose gold. It was beautiful. It was perfect. 

"I'll take it." Harm said, not really caring how much it cost him. As he was paying for it, he realised that he didn't have anything for his mother, which was what he'd told Mac he was coming in here to buy. He inwardly shrugged as he took his purchase and stashed it safely into the inside pocket of his long coat. He would just tell her that he hadn't found anything that he really liked. 

Back at the café, Mac sat waiting for both Harm and her latte to arrive, which they both did at the same time five minutes and twelve seconds later. Harm sat down and Mac looked questioningly at him, looking deliberately at the bundle of bags he was holding. Harm interpreted her gaze and lied smoothly to her.

"It wasn't as nice as I'd though it was." he told her, shaking his head. "Well, it was nice, but not something I can really see my mother wearing. So never fear, you don't have to find a way to tell me nicely that what I've bought is hideous."

Mac grinned and passed Harm his cappuccino. Ali looked at his mug and held out her hands for it. 

"Sip" she demanded.

"No, honey, you don't want a sip of that. Uncle Harm's drinking a grown up drink. You wouldn't like it." Mac told her daughter gently. Unfortunately for her, Ali had inherited her mother's extreme stubbornness and kept demanding a sip until Harm persuaded Mac to allow her to have one. The look on Ali's face was priceless. She screwed up her nose, squinched her eyes shut and stuck her tongue out of her mouth. 

"Yucky" she declared. 

Mac and Harm laughed at her reaction and were interrupted by the ringing of Harm's mobile phone. He grabbed it and answered it in the usual way.

"Rabb."

Mac watched Harm's facial expression as he listened to the person on the other end of the line. He went from a neutral expression, to suspicious, to alarmed and then to horrified and pale. When he hung up the phone he was shaking and Mac wondered what on earth could have shaken him up so badly.

"Harm, what is it?" she asked him.

"The Sarah." he told her listlessly. "She's gone. Someone stole the Sarah."

Mac blanched as she listened to Harm's words. The Sarah was his pride and joy and with good reason. He had put so much work into it over the years. 

"How?" she whispered. Harm shrugged.

"I dunno. It was just there yesterday and then this afternoon when they got there it was gone."

They sat there in silence, both trying to get a grasp on what had happened. The wheels in Mac's head were turning as an idea formed. She still had some old contacts in LA that might be able to help her, not to mention a few people who owed her favours. Maybe, just maybe, she could do something about Harm's plane. 

2000

Mac's apartment

After feeding Ali and putting her to bed, Mac picked up the phone and called an old friend of hers. She explained what she wanted him to do and he was happy to help her. After chatting idly for another half a hour, they said their goodbyes and hung up the phone. She sat back and silently wished that she could pull this off. If she could, then it would be the best Christmas present she could ever get for him. If not....well, she just hoped that she could find him something else in time. 

December 24, 2145

Roberts' residence 

Everyone from JAG was standing or sitting around the Roberts' living room, talking and having a good time. Mac was having an animated discussion with Sturgis when she heard someone call her name. She turned around to see Harm sitting on the couch nursing a sobbing Ali in his arms. She excused herself from Sturgis and walked around the edge of the room to where they were. 

"Hey pumpkin. What's the matter, huh?" she asked, taking Ali into her arms. 

Harm shrugged. "She just started crying for no reason. I'd say that she's had enough of this. Too much excitement all in the one day." He looked adoringly at Ali. "Is someone tired?" he said to her, kissing her softly. "I think you are, aren't you?"

Ali's only reply was to stick her thumb into her mouth and cuddle in closer to Mac. She laughed and stroked Ali's hair.

"Do you mind if we get going now, Harm? Ali needs to get to bed." she yawned. "And so do I, for that matter." 

"Actually that sounds like a good idea. Come on, lets get our coats."

As they moved to get their coats, Mac's foot caught on one of AJ's stray toys that Harriet had missed with her tidy spree and stumbled, grabbing the table to steady herself. Unfortunately in doing so she put her hand in a dish of cranberry sauce which also splattered onto the sleeve of her red 3/4 length top and the lower part of her arm. 

"Aaaargh, damn it." she muttered to herself. 

"What was that, ma'am?" asked Harriet who was passing.

"Oh, nothing Harriet. I just got sauce all over me. Would you mind taking Ali for a second while I wash it off please?"

"Of course." she replied, a bright smile on her face as usual.

Mac went into the kitchen and began attempting to wash the sauce of her arm and sleeve. _At least the top is red _she thought to herself as she scrubbed away at the sleeve.

"Hey." came a familiar masculine voice from behind her. She turned around to see Harm standing there, a look of amusement evident on his face. 

"You know Mac, if you were hungry then you could have just said something."

Mac threw him a mock glare and returned to washing the sleeve of her top, encountering a slight problem when she found that there was sauce on her elbow too. She attempted to put just that bit under the water, however with the shape of the sink and the angle she was at, it was impossible and she growled in frustration.

"Let me help you." 

Harm stepped up behind her and put his arms around her and into the sink, carefully helping her wash the sleeve of her top. She struggled to keep her breathing at a normal level, but it was becoming increasingly difficult with the objects of almost all her dreams and fantasies standing right behind her. 

"There we go, all clean now." he teased her. "Are you alright Mac. You've been kind of quiet this evening. You coping with everything alright?" he asked her, concerned.

Mac leaned back into the safety of his arms and nodded her eyes shut. 

"Thanks Harm." she said quietly.

"Thanks for what?" 

"For everything. For just being there for me. I don't know that I could have made it through Christmas this year without you."

Harm smiled and leaned a cheek on her silky hair. "There isn't a place I'd rather be." he told her honestly, placing a gentle kiss in her hair. 

It finally registered to them that they should really be getting back to Ali, so they left the kitchen and went to collect their coats. They slid their coats on and turned to Harriet to get Ali off her. They were not overly surprised to see everyone crowdedinto the hallway to wish them a Merry Christmas, however they were surprised by the fact that no one was talking, that they were just staring at them, most of them with grins on their faces. 

"What?" Mac and Harm asked at the same time, baffled by everyone's odd behaviour. 

Simultaneously, everyone looked up at the ceiling above the two of them. They followed the direction of their gazes to find a large wreath of mistletoe hanging directly above their heads. Harm grinned. 

"Uh oh," he said, "Looks like we're caught. No way to escape this one."

"Well go on, Harm, kiss her." Harriet urged. "Its tradition. You can't break it now."

"You're right, Harriet. Who would I be to break a Christmas tradition like this? Especially on Christmas eve."

He turned to face Mac and took a step closer to her. Then he leaned down and captured her lips in a gentle kiss. The chaste kiss lasted for almost five seconds, but the sparks they both felt when their lips touched made it incredibly hard for Mac not to grab him and ravish him there and then. Of course it would have been rather awkward considering almost the entire JAG office was looking on. They said their goodbyes and headed out to the car talking about the plans they had with each other for Christmas day. 

Mac dropped Harm off at the wall and waited in the car with Ali, refusing his urgings that she should come too. Harm headed out to the wall alone to wish his father a merry Christmas and talk about the woman who he was determined to make things work with.

December 25, 0915

Mac's apartment

Mac was sitting on the couch holding a squirming Ali who was determined to get at her pile of brightly wrapped Christmas presents. Mac, on the other hand, was determined to make her wait until Harm was there, because..... well, she didn't know why, it just seemed somehow..._right._

After making Ali promise not to open any presents while she was gone, Mac went into the kitchen to get herself another cup of coffee. Just as she was pouring it she heard a knock at the door.

"Come in, flyboy, the door's unlocked." she called through the kitchen, knowing that Harm was the only one who would be knocking on her door at such a time on Christmas morning. She took out another mug from the cupboard and poured a second cup of coffee.

"Good morning and merry Christmas squid." She greeted Harm, handing him a cup of coffee.

"Good morning and merry Christmas to you too, marine." he replied, placing the large bag he was carrying beside the sofa. "I see you bought the entire toy store out for you darling daughter here." he commented, noticing the enormous pile of presents under the tree. Mac grinned sheepishly and shrugged."

"I know I spoil her rotten, but what can I say? I love her to bits. How can I not spoil her?"

Harm laughed. "I totally agree with you there. I bought the two of you some presents as well."

"Ooh goodie." They laughed and went to sit on the sofa. Harm pulled out his presents to Ali from his bag and handed them to her. 

"Can I open them yet mummy?" she asked, still squirming with excitement.

"Sure thing, sweetheart."

Ali eagerly tore the paper off her first present and her eyes lit up when she saw what Harm had bought for her.

"What do you say, miss?" Mac asked her daughter, who was now moving to the next present. 

"Thank you Unca Harm!" the excited girl exclaimed. Harm laughed and reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a small brightly wrapped box.

"Merry Christmas, Mac." he said fondly.

Mac cautiously took the box. She opened the paper carefully before very slowly opening the jewellery box that was underneath the wrapping paper. She gasped when she saw what was inside. 

"Oh Harm, this is way too much." she said, staring mesmerised by the beautiful piece of jewellery. 

"No its not. I wanted to get you something to show you how much you mean to me, Sarah." he told her seriously, trying to convey with his eyes what his mouth could not.

__

Soon, Sarah, soon. I will let go and I'll be able to tell you soon. I just need a little more time. When we're both ready for this. he thought, looking beseechingly at her, hoping that she got the message. She smiled at him, knowing exactly what he was trying to convey and also knowing how hard it was for him to show his emotions like he was. 

"It's beautiful, Harm. Thank you." she said sincerely, her smile reaching to her eyes. 

"May I?" Harm asked, holding out his hand for the necklace.

"Of course." he took the necklace and hung it around her neck, admiring it.

"Thankyou so much, Harm." she said, her voice thick with emotion. He understood how she was feeling. All her life, no one had really loved her like they ought to and she wasn't used to people treating her like she was really worth something. True, being at JAG had given her a wonderful surrogate family who made her, for the first time in her life, feel proud of who she was, but no one had ever given her something like Harm had given her, just because she was important to them. It overwhelmed her that someone could be that kind, but then again, wasn't that one of the reasons that she had fallen in love with Harm in the first place?

"Hey Harm, do you want your present now?" she asked him.

"Uh huh." he nodded eagerly.

"Well then grab your coat and come with me, because it ain't here." she stated picking up Ali. "All right little missy. You're going to go and stay with Mrs Phelps for a little while, okay? She's the nice lady who gives you chocolate cookies." Ali's grin turned even wider at the mention of chocolate cookies and she grabbed a few of her new toys as Mac bundled her up. They locked up Mac's apartment and dropped Ali off with the lady next door, who had already agreed to look after her for a couple of hours.

Once they were into Mac's car she pulled out a blindfold and handed it to Harm, making him put it on. After much protesting he finally relented and she refused to tell him, despite his asking many times, where they were going. 

A half hour later they arrived at the field where the Sarah was, unfortunately paintedred, but with a huge blue ribbon tied to her tail and nose. Mac got out of the car then went around to the passenger side to help Harm out. 

"Okay, you impatient flyboy, you can take off your blindfold now." she told him. 

He removed the piece of cloth and gasped. 

"What...how...." he stammered, at loss for what to say. "You...you bought me a new plane?" 

"Well, not _new_." she said. "Harm, I'd like you to meet your new plane, the Sarah, which is really just your old plane which some nasty guy painted red to try and sell. But there's still a yellow plane under there and it's still your Sarah." she said, a look of immense satisfaction evident on her face.

"Mac....I can't believe it. You found my plane! I'd practically given up on ever finding it. Thank you so much." He kissed her cheek and grabbed her pulling her into a tight affectionate hug.

"Merry Christmas, Harm." came her muffled voice from buried in his chest.

"Merry Christmas Sarah."

"Which one?" she teased her best friend lightly.

"You, silly." he told her, poking her side and making her giggle. 

She grinned up at him before settling back into his warm embrace. He hugged her to him even tighter and placed a light kiss on the top of her head and murmured softly.

"Merry Christmas, Sarah."

A/N: Okay everyone, you know the drill. I write, you review. I posted two chapter last time and I got hardly any reviews and that made me sad. As I have said, you probably won't get another chapter for a while with school going back, but I promise that I'll do my very best. 

I have a favour to ask all of you humble JAG fans out there. I would like you all to please help us with the JAG DVD petition.

Want to see JAG on DVD? (and you know you do) 

Let's let Paramount know that there are many JAG fans out there who want to see uncut versions of our favourite show on DVD!!!!

Send a card or letter to Paramount requesting JAG DVD releases. Let's inundate Paramount with tons of requests! 

The address to send your request to is:

Home Entertainment Division 

Paramount Studios 

5555 Melrose Avenue 

Hollywood, CA 90038 

Please do send in your letter because every one counts. A big thankyou to everyone who sends a letter. God Bless.


	10. Midnight confessions

****

Chapter 10 

Home is where your best friend is

A/N: I'm glad everyone liked the last chapter so much! I promise that from here on it will get even more shippery *cheers*. As usual, thanks sooooo much for everyone who reviewed with such nice reviews, especially vampiress24! Some of your guesses as to what's going to happen are getting very close *winks at BelovedOne*. So watch out for the next few chapters which will hopefully be up soon.

Sunday February 8

1330 local

"Hey Marine, what do you say to some lunch?" Harm called over the wind to Mac, sitting behind him.

"Of course. You need to ask?" she shouted back, grinning at the expressions she knew would be on her partner's face.

Sarah Mackenzie sat in the back seat of the Sarah, now yellow again, with Ali strapped to her lap and a wide grin on her face. Harm had asked her on Friday if the two of them would like to spend the weekend with him and she had gladly agreed. She was enjoying every moment spent with Harm, and things were going exceptionally well between them. They were spending the majority of their spare time with each other. They were completely comfortable around each other, if you ignored the ever present underlying tension between the two. 

Their conversations had become more flirtatious of late, however this time, as opposed to the last time they were this close, the other would return the favour and flirt back, often quite shamelessly. 

Harm set the Sarah down on a large field and being the perfect gentleman that he was, immediately went to help Mac and Ali out. Harm helped unstrap Ali from the harness, who was glad to be able to move again. Ali immediately took off toddling away from them. Mac was about to call after her but Harm stopped her.

"Don't worry about her, Mac. As long as she doesn't go too far, then she's fine. There's nothing dangerous here and because it's flat we'll easily be able to see her."

Mac nodded in agreement and watched her daughter chasing after a large blue butterfly, giggling madly at the tiny creature. 

"Hey, Mac." Harm took her attention off her daughter and as she turned around her eyes went wide. There, on the grass behind her, was a picnic blanket with the contents of a large picnic basket spread out over it. 

"Wow." she said, amazed at how much trouble he had obviously gone to for her. "This is incredible Harm. You didn't have to go to so much trouble. Not just for us, anyway."

"Course I did." he countered "and besides, it was nothing. I just wanted to please the two most important women in my life....or girls even." he amended, looking over at Ali who was now sitting amongst the tall grass, clapping her hands at something.

He rested his gaze back on Mac and she gave him a tender smile. 

"Of course," Harm added, a mischievous grin on his face "I'm still not sure that you don't fit into the 'girl' category too. After all, you _are_ somewhat immature at times." 

"Jerk!" she poked him in the ribs playfully and he responded by hauling her up and slinging her over his shoulder. 

"Harm!! Put me down." she demanded, laughing hysterically as he spun her around. 

"No." he answered, still grinning. "I don't want to."

"HARMON RABB PUT ME DOWN THIS INSTANT OR YOU WILL FACE THE CONSEQUENCES!" she shouted in her best drill sergeant voice, the seriousness of which was belied by her insistent giggling.

"Yes Ma'am." Harm shouted back, placing her gently down onto the picnic blanket and seating himself beside her. "Tell me, Colonel. What might those 'consequences' be? Anything I'd like?" he asked, raising his eyebrows suggestively.

"Oh, I don't know, Commander." she replied in a salacious voice. "You might."

She trailed her fingers slowly down his chest, aware of how good his muscles felt beneath her fingers, separated only by the thin fabric of his shirt. His breath caught in his through and she could see him trying to keep his accelerated breathing even. She inwardly smiled. He was not going to get what he was hoping for. Not by a long shot....

As her fingers reached his stomach she suddenly lunged at him, unexpectedly tickling his sides. 

"Mac.....don't.....please....." he gasped in between fits of laughing and trying shove Mac away. Mac's only response was to shove him back and pin him down with her weight. Out of options, Harm suddenly bought his arms up and began to tickle her back.

"Aaagh......no.....stop it....." Mac begged him, giggling uncontrollably. Harm, now with the upper hand, merely smirked and continued with his merciless assault to Mac's side. Suddenly a scream interrupted their laughing and they both jumped up and rushed over to where Ali was sitting in the grass, clutching her left hand and wailing incessantly.

"Hey baby-doll. What happened." Mac picked Ali up, trying to soothe her. She was surprised when Ali kept on crying even after she had been picked up. Usually she stopped crying when Mac was there, but the fact that she was still wailing made Mac think that something serious had happened. She carried Ali back to their picnic blanket and set her down gently, kneeling down beside her. 

"Okay precious, show mamma where it hurts." she told the screaming toddler. Ali held our her left hand for Mac to see and Mac could immediately see why Ali was crying.

"My poor baby. Did you get stung by a nasty old bee?" she asked rhetorically, inspecting the red swollen mark now appearing on Ali's hand. 

"Shh," Mac soothed, finally getting Ali to quiet down a bit. "It's okay sweetheart. Let mamma kiss it better, hey?" 

"Kith kith." Ali lisped, holding her hand out to Mac for her to kiss it better. She placed a gentle kiss on the red spot then examined it. Fortunately, it seemed that the stinger had already come out, but it still looked rather sore. She gathered Ali into her arms and held her close, rocking her back and forth until her sobs subsided. 

"Does my beautiful baby want some lunch?"

Ali's face brightened instantaneously at the mention of some lunch and Harm, who had noticed this, chuckled to himself. 

"What's so funny, sailor?" 

Harm just smiled and shook his head. "Nothing, nothing. Just that your daughter seems to have inherited your insatiable appetite."

Mac poked her tongue out at him and turned her attention to the food. 

An hour later the three of them were sitting contentedly, Harm leaning against a tree, Mac leaning back into his arms and Ali in Mac's arms, a damp washcloth on her hand over the bee sting. Ali was sleeping, Mac was dozing lightly and Harm was tenderly stroking Mac's hair. Ali began to stir and started to whimper and clutch her hand again. Her movements woke her mother and when Mac lifted the washcloth to take a look, she grimaced when she saw how swollen it had become. When she removed Ali's jacket to take a look at the rest of her arm, however, it was much worse than Mac had imagined and she blanched at the sight. Ali's arm had become swollen almost all the way up to her shoulder, and it was now obvious to Mac that her daughter was highly allergic to bee stings. 

"Harm, we need to get her to a hospital. She must be allergic to bee stings and the swelling's getting dangerously close to her neck."

Harm took a look at the bee sting, the once again sobbing toddler, and agreed. They made quick work of packing everything up and fairly soon they were on their way back in the Sarah.

Sunday February 8  
1530 local  
Bethesda

Mac sat with her daughter in her lap while Harm hovered protectively around. True, he was annoying in his impatience and over protectiveness, but Mac couldn't help but think what a wonderful father he'd make one day. She held Ali tight while the nurse came back and gave her an injection to reduce the swelling and take away the pain and itching of the sting. 

"Say, munchkin, seeing as you've been such a brave girl today, what do you say we go and get some ice cream?" Mac suggested as they left the hospital. Ali's eyes lit up at the prospect and soon she was slurping happily on a large strawberry ice cream, Mac with a large chocolate one, from which Harm stole the occasional lick. 

"You want to come back to my place for some coffee, Mac?" Harm asked her, feeling that they could both use the chance to relax a bit.

"I dunno, Harm. As much as I'd love to, I really think I should get Ali home."

"I know, but you look as though you should take a break for a moment. Why don't you come back to my place for just an hour or so and you can put your feet up without having to worry about taking care of Ali."

"Oh Harm, I couldn't ask you to do that." she argued, all the while knowing what was coming. Harm just grinned at her and said nothing. 

"Yeah, yeah, I know. I didn't ask, you offered." she thought about it for a moment then conceded. "Okay, sounds good. We're going to your place."

Sunday February 8

2230 local

Harm's apartment

Mac sighed as she lay back on the couch, putting her feet up on the coffee table. Ali had fallen asleep a few hours ago and, not wanting to take her home and risk waking her up now that she was finally asleep, Mac had agreed to stay the night. Now, Ali was in Harm's bed, where Mac would soon join her, with Harm volunteering to take the couch, despite Mac's protests that he was too long for it. Harm came out of his bedroom with a pair of sweat pants and a t shirt for her to wear to bed and threw them to her. She smiled her thanks and went to change. 

She emerged from the bathroom and went to find Harm, locating him sprawled out across the couch. She went over to him and, much to his surprise, gave him a hug.

"Thanks, Harm. For everything. I really mean it."  
  
Harm gave her an affectionate smile. "You're welcome, Sarah. Goodnight."

"Goodnight Harm."

With that Mac got up and headed into Harm's bedroom and climbed into his bed next to Ali. On the outside, she was calm and serene, but on the inside she was jumping around. He had called her Sarah! She smiled in the darkness. It made her feel so special hearing her given name come from his lips and gave her goosebumps. Her smile widened. He had called her Sarah. Maybe they really were getting somewhere.

Monday February 9  
0147 local   
Harm's apartment

Harm lay awake on his couch, listening to the rain beat down outside. He tried valiantly to stop his thoughts from straying to the woman in his bedroom, but to no avail. No matter what he thought of - cars, flying, work - his thoughts still ended up on her somehow - cherry red corvettes, the Sarah, his work partner. Having long ago given up on both sleep and trying to think of something other than Mac, Harm pulled himself up off the couch and went to stand by the open window, letting the cool breeze play over his face. He stared down and out into the dark street below, trying to collect his thoughts and sort out his feelings. He still loved Mac, that much he knew, he had never stopped loving her in the time that she was away. Seeing her again, and seeing how strong and independent she was had just made him love her even more, if that was possible.

As much as he felt he was getting a second chance to make things work with Mac, he didn't dare make a move just yet. She wasn't emotionally ready for another relationship, especially one with him, and he didn't want to push her. Even so, he vowed to himself that when she was ready he would tell her exactly how he felt. 

Harm was so caught up in his thoughts that he literally jumped when he heard a noise from his bedroom. Deciding to check on 'the girls' he poked his head into his room to see if they were alright. Ali was sleeping quite peacefully, but Mac, on the other hand, was tossing and turning.

"No" she moaned softly, grasping the sheets tightly in one fist. Harm looked at her, concerned. She moaned again, louder this time.

"No, please don't take her. She's my baby, leave her alone. Don't take her, you can't have her. No, NO!" Mac's moans were starting to get louder until she was almost shouting. She had by this time managed to entangle the sheets around her slender body and she was gripping one corner of the sheet so hard that her knuckles had turned white.

"Mac" Harm called gently, placing a hand over her arm. She didn't respond and he tried again, louder.

"Mac"

She continued about in the throes of her nightmare. Harm, getting desperate, touched his hand to her flushed cheek. 

"Sarah"

Mac gave a gasp as her eyelids flew open, her eyes darting frantically around the room.

"Ali" she gasped, "Where's my baby?"

"It's alright Mac, she's just fine, see? She's right there beside you."

Harm gently picked up Ali and placed her into her mother's trembling arms. Mac held her daughter close and buried her face in Ali's curly hair, still trembling. Harm climbed onto the bed and sat beside them and pulled Mac, still holding Ali, into his lap. He held Mac tight and gently rocked the two of them in his arms. When she had calmed down enough, Harm motioned for Mac to put Ali back on the other side of the bed.

"What happened?" Harm asked, still rocking Mac in his lap and absentmindedly stroking her sleep tousled hair. "Was it a dream or a vision?"

"A dream. More of a nightmare, really. It was Rob. He tried to take her away from me. He tried to hurt her.

"Ali?" Mac nodded in confirmation, tears forming in the corners of her sleepy eyes. 

"I'm just so scared, Harm." she admitted. "I'm terrified that something is going to happen to Ali." More tears welled in her eyes and they spilled over, trailing down her cheeks, where Harm wiped them gently away.

"Shh," Harm soothed gently, rocking her back and forth. "It'll be alright. Firstly, she's going to be safe because you're a strong woman. I know that you'd do everything you could to protect that beautiful girl of yours."

"But I'm not strong." Mac argued tearfully. "I mean, just look at me. One little dream and I'm reduced to tears."

Harm shook his head. "You are strong, Sarah. Just look at yourself. You've had more than your fair share of lousy circumstances and yet you've managed to come out on top every time."

"I wouldn't say that -- " she began, but Harm interrupted her. 

"As for the tears, crying doesn't automatically make you weak. You're a passionate person and crying is just one way of expressing you're emotions."

"I'm not passionate either," she argued again "and I'm definitely not strong. Crying is a sign of weakness. Rob always said so."

"Yeah, well, he's wrong." Harm countered. "You, Sarah, are one of the strongest most passionate people I know and that's just one of the many reasons that I love you so much."

Mac's gaze leapt from the bed and up to Harm's eyes. 

"What did you just say?" she whispered, hardly daring to hope. Harm, realising what he had just let slip, tried to cover it. 

"I said that you were one of the most strong and passionate people I know."

Mac's heart sank. Here they were again. Harmon Rabb Jr. was once again unable to talk to her about his feelings, and Mac was suddenly angry. Something inside her snapped. The last few months had been an emotional roller coaster for her and she refused to sit around and let Harm toy with her feelings like that.

"Dammit, Harm. Why must you always do this to me?" she demanded angrily, at the same time trying to keep her voice low.Harm was taken aback and tried to say something, but Mac kept on talking, not allowing him to get a word in.

"Why is it that you can never confront your feelings without backing away? I'm sick of it Harm. Every time we have a conversation like this you're

always changing the subject or answering questions with questions or just plain ignoring what I have to say. You never give me a straight answer."

She took a breath and continued. 

"Well, this time you are going to give me a straight answer - and an honest one at that - or else I'm walking out of here because my heart's not up to being strung along and thrown about at the moment. So tell me this: did you mean what you just said? Do you really love me?"

Harm looked into her eyes and answered simply and honestly, without beating about the bush.

"Always, Sarah. With all my heart." 

Mac let out the breath she hadn't realised that she had been holding. 

"Good," she replied softly "because since coming back I've fallen even more in love with you, all over again."

She reached up and placed a trembling hand over his jaw, which was coarse with stubble. He covered her hand with his own and placed a soft kiss on it. Mac, only centimetres from Harm, not to mention still in his lap, moved forward ever so slowly until her lips were almost on his. She could feel his warm breath on the sensitive skin of her face momentarily before he closed the gap between them, pressing his lip to hers. He kissed her so softly, so lovingly that she began to tremble. No one had ever treated her like this, like she was someone truly special. True, Rob had come close, but never had he made her feel so loved, like she was the only person in the world to him, which was how she felt now. Harm, noticing her trembling, got the wrong idea and pulled back slightly.

Mac would have none of that.

Grabbing him by the back of his neck, she brought his lips back to hers, kissing him deeply. He responded ardently and allowed his hands to roam over her body. Mac moaned as his tongue swept into her mouth and his wandering hands sent tremors of heat coursing through her body. It had been so long since anyone had touched her like that - only a few times since Ali had been born, and even then it was just sex, not love - and now after just a taste of it, just one loving touch from Harm, her body craved more. He moaned her name as she kissed him hungrily, greedily, almost desperately, pulling him as close as was possible, revelling in the taste of his kiss. Suddenly, a thought jumped into her head, and with great difficulty and reluctance she pulled herself away from Harm, whimpering at the loss of contact.

"Harm." she gasped breathing heavily. "We have to stop..."

"I know. You're not ready for something like this...." he trailed off. "I'm sorry"

"Hell, I'm not. I can't remember how many times I've wished for that to happen."

"Then what...?" 

"Ali" she replied simply. Harm blinked as he remembered the sleeping two year old who was right next to them.

"I think that maybe we should talk." he said still trying to slow his breathing. 

"Yeah, we should." Mac agreed, getting off his lap and tugging him to his feet.

"Mac, what are you doing?" he asked, confused.

"We're going into the other room so that we can talk."

"Now?" he asked dubiously.

"Why not? There's no time like the present. Besides, if we don't talk now then I'm afraid that we'll never end up talking. And then everything will just get screwed up." she declared.

"Not this time." he told her, his voice low. "This time I'm not letting you go. I've had enough of screwing everything up and we are going to make this work. I promise you."

"Don't make a promise you can't keep." she told him softly.

"I haven't yet, and I mean what I said. I'm tired of screwing everything up when it comes to you. I know that we should talk but now isn't the time." 

Mac was about to argue but he raised his hand, forestalling any comment, and pulled her back down to sit next to him. 

"Just listen to me, alright? Now isn't the time for us to talk about everything, but I am going to say what needs to be said right now, and that's this. I love you, Sarah, and you mean the world to me. You are my reason to live and nothing in the world makes me more happy than being with you. You are the centre of my life and I want you to know that." 

Mac looked at him, barely able to believe what she was hearing. The great Harmon Rabb Jr, always hiding his feelings, had just told her that she meant the world to him. She threw her arms around him and he held her close, kissing the top of her head.

"You know, you really ought to go back to sleep, Mac."

"Yeah, I should, and so should you. We both have work tomorrow."

"Exactly. So off to bed with you, marine. Come on and I'll tuck you in." she grinned at him and got back into bed beside Ali.

"Harm? Do you think that.... that you could hold me?" she asked tentatively.

"Of course. I'd like nothing more." he slipped into bed beside her and wrapped his arms protectively around her. She smiled and sighed contentedly. It felt so....so right being in his arms. She wondered if he had been there before, then maybe she wouldn't have had the nightmare. Of course, if she hadn't, then they wouldn't be lying here so comfortably and contentedly.

"Harm?" she murmured, snuggling deeper into his embrace

"Yeah, sweetheart?" Mac giggled at the endearment.

"I'm sorry that I woke you up before."

"That's alright. I wasn't asleep anyway. Actually, I couldn't sleep- all I could think about was the beautiful woman in my bedroom." he told her. She decided that she liked this new sweet side of Harm that she was getting to see.

"Are you going to......sleep better now?" She asked, yawning.

"Mmm hmmm." he mumbled back. "Night Sarah."

"G'night Harm. I love you."

"Love you too, baby."

A/N: As usual, peoples, I LOVE reviews (hint hint). As you know, I have lots of school work to be doing, but I'm going to do my very best to write and post a valentines day chapter for you! 

Also, just a reminder to you all: have you sent in your petition for JAG on DVD? If not, the address is in the authors note in the last chapter. Please send one in, because every letter counts!


	11. Valentines day

****

Chapter 11

Home is where your best friend is

A/N: FINALLY! A new chapter!!! I apologise profusely for not posting another chapter sooner, but I've been snowed in with schoolwork… although technically it doesn't actually snow over here, but that's besides the point. Anyway, here's a chapter for you all and its nice and long to make up for the fact that I took so long to post. I also regret to say that its likely that its going to take me just as long to get another chapter up, cos I really don't have much spare time, but I promise you that I will do my best and that I HAVE NOT forgotten about my poor little fic. 

And with no further ado, on with the story. 

Tuesday February 11

1830 local

Mac's apartment 

Sarah Mackenzie sat at her kitchen table watching in amusement as her daughter ate her dinner rather messily. She got up to get herself a drink of water. When she turned back around she was dismayed to see that Ali had managed to tip her entire plate of spaghetti all over herself and the table. Mac sighed.

"Aaargh, what have you done, you messy thing?" she asked her daughter who was sitting in her chair smiling angelically up at Mac. 

"Come on munchkin, lets get you cleaned up why don't we?" she scooped Ali up with one arm and picked up the now empty bowl with the other, shaking her head at the pile of spaghetti and sauce that now adorned the tabletop. Unfortunately for her, she failed to notice the large glob of her dinner that Ali had in her hand as Mac picked up. With one singular motion, the spaghetti bolognaise went from Ali's chubby little fist to down the front of Mac's shirt.

"Eek! Ali!" she admonished sternly. "That was _not_ nice. Now what do you say?"

"Thowwy mamma." She apologised, looking genuinely repentant. Mac kissed the top of her head, unable to be mad at her adorable daughter. 

Mac scooped as much of the spaghetti back into the bowl as she could and took it over to the kitchen sink. She plonked Ali down on the counter and washed her hands before moving to Ali's grubby hands. Before long, however, she realised that washing Ali's hands would accomplish very little because Ali was completely covered with the spaghetti. The only way to get her even reasonably clean was to give her a bath. Mac picked her up again and took her into the bathroom, wondering vaguely why she even bothered to wash her hands. She stripped off Ali's clothes and sat her down on the floor on the bathroom before starting the warm water running.

"Now stay here while mummy goes to change her shirt and when I get back you can get in, okay sweetie?" Mac received no answer from Ali, who was already busy playing with a large green rubber frog. 

"Ali, are you listening to me?" Mac asked, getting her daughters attention. "Now you know the rule, don't you? No getting into the bath until mummy's here." Ali nodded and Mac made sure that she intended to obey the rule. She was always very careful about leaving Ali alone with water in the bath, because she had heard horrific stories about children who had drowned in their own bathtubs after being left alone for just a few minutes and there was no way she was going to let that happen to Ali.

Mac removed her shirt before leaving the bathroom, deciding that it was best not to get any more spaghetti in the rest of the house. She wiped the spaghetti sauce off from the front of her chest and bra with a damp washcloth. She walked out of the bathroom towards her bedroom, unfortunately not having heard her door being opened because of the noise of the running water, and stopped dead in her tracks when she came face to face with none other than Harmon Rabb. 

"Ah, hi..." she said, fighting the urge to cross her arms over the front of her chest. After all, it was nothing he hadn't seen before. Of course, last time she had been wearing a bikini top, not her bra.

"Um, hi Mac" Harm fidgeted uncomfortably, causing Mac to suppress a grin. She could see how much effort it was taking him to keep his eyes from leaving her face and she decided to tease him a bit. 

"What are you doing here so early?" she asked him, acting as though nothing out of the ordinary was going on. "You weren't meant to be here for another half hour, which means I didn't expect you for another hour at least." 

Harm glared at her. 

"Very funny, marine. Where's Ali?" He asked, glancing around the apartment. 

"In the bathroom waiting for her bath. She managed to spill spaghetti all over both of us, not to mention the kitchen table and the floor. Hence my....unusual.....attire."

"What, you mean you don't greet all your boyfriends topless?" he joked, still not at ease with the situation and still doing his best not to let his eyes wander.

"No, only the ones I really like." she teased him, taking a few steps closer. "Although my boyfriends usually greet me with a kiss."

"Does this mean I get to kiss you?" he asked, flashing his flyboy grin at her.

"Hmmm." she pretended to think for a moment. "Well, I suppose so....." she flirted, trailing off seductively.

"Good. 'Cos I was going to any way. I just thought it was more polite to at least pretend to ask permission first." he replied, pulling her close and bringing his lips down on hers in a searing kiss that threatened to make her knees give way. 

When they pulled apart 30 seconds later, Harm looked down at her face. That was his undoing, because he not only looked down at her face, but inadvertently looked down at her chest too. He stared down at her, unable to tear his gaze away.

_ Oh my.... note to self, Rabb. Pick jaw up off floor._

Mac stood on her tiptoes and whispered into his ear. "See something you like, sailor?"

"Hell yeah." came the distracted reply from Harm who continued to gape. Mac laughed at his comment, which of course only made Harm more interested in what he was staring at. Mac shook her head. 

"Harm......hey, Harm!" she snapped her fingers in front of his face to get his attention and he looked up at her. 

"Yeah?"

"Go and check on Ali will you? She's waiting to be allowed to get into the bath. You can put her in if you like."

"Sure. What are you doing?" he asked, looking slightly disappointed that the show was over.

Mac gave him an exasperated look. "What do you _think_ I'm doing, flyboy. I'm going to go and put a clean top on."

"Ah, right. Don't feel like you have to put a top on just because of me. It doesn't bother me at all. Really, it doesn't." Mac shook her head and went into her bedroom to change, closing the door behind her.

Tuesday February 11

2000 local

Mac's apartment

Harm and Mac sat in the kitchen eating their dinner, talking of everything and nothing and enjoying the peace and quiet, with Ali now asleep in her room. As they ate Mac suddenly remembered something she had meant to ask Harm a while back.

"Hey Harm, do you remember the conversation we had with the Admiral when he requested I return to active duty at JAG?"

"Yeah…." Harm wondered suspiciously where the conversation was going, although he was sure that it would end with him in some sort of trouble or other. Mind you, he was always in trouble, so what difference did it really make?

"And do you remember that I needed a uniform for work?" she watched as his face went red as he realised what she was referring to. "And do you remember just _where_ I got that uniform from?" she asked.

"I already told you about that, Mac. You left it here and I kept on meaning to send it over to you, except I never quite got round to it."

"Right, Harm. The admiral may have bought that excuse - although I don't think he did - and I my have let you use it for a while, but I know you better than that. Besides, I distinctly remember wondering out loud and over the phone many times as to the whereabouts of my lost uniform. I also remember you claiming that you had no idea where it was, but that you would try and find it for me."

"Er...." Mac smirked, looking quite please with herself.

"Come on, Flyboy. I'm waiting." 

Harm cast his mind around for something to say, for some way to avoid answering the question. However the more ideas and comebacks that ran through his mind, the more he realised that it would be better to tell Mac the truth, he owed it to her. 

Mac watched intently as she witnessed Harm's internal struggle, sensing that something big was going on inside his head. She prayed silently that he was letting himself be guided by his emotions, rather than his usual put-up-a-brick-wall-and-don't-let-anyone-in routine. She watched hopefully as his expression softened, his eyes gaining a submissive look.

"I missed you." he said quietly not looking her in the eye. "I don't think I could count the number of times I sat staring at your uniform while talking to you. It made it just that much easier - it was almost like you were right there and I was talking to your in person."

"Come on, Harm. You can't have missed me that much." she teased, trying to lighten his mood a little. Harm looked at her sombrely.

"You have no idea Sarah. It hurt me so much, to watch as I slowly lost the woman I..."

Mac could feel her heart pounding, silently screaming at him to finish what he had started to say."

"Lost what, Harm?"

"As I slowly lost the woman I loved to another man."

Mac stared at Harm, his eyes downcast, dumbfounded. She knew that he loved her now - he had said as much - but she had no idea that he had actually loved her all those years ago. No, that was not true. She had hoped, but never dared believe it.

"I'm so sorry Sarah." he choked out, his voice thick with emotion. "I never meant for it to be like this."

"Hey, Harm. Look at me." He continued to stare at his hands, so she got up from her seat and moved to kneel in front of him, bringing his head up so he could look at her.

"We may not have gotten past all our obstacles in the past, but we're going pretty well right now, wouldn't you say? Now is not the time for regret over what we did or didn't do last time. Now is the time to have a go at the second chance we've been given and not look back. You got that?"

Harm smiled, feeling as though a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He pulled Mac onto his lap, hugging her to him tightly, silently thanking God for the second chance he had with this wonderful woman. 

"Say, ninja girl. How would you like to go out to dinner with a sailor this Friday?" he asked, kissing her temple, her cheek, her lips. Mac smiled.

"I'd love to, just as long as you promise there will be dead cow available." Harm laughed and rolled his eyes. 

"Of course. Nothing but the best quality dead cow available for this Marine. Now why don't we go and find somewhere more comfortable to sit. Not that I'm complaining about having the most beautiful woman I know sitting in my lap, but you know..."

Mac laughed and hopped off his lap, leading him over to the sofa where they sat back down and promptly snuggled up to one another. Mac sighed inwardly with contentment. Ahh, life was beautiful.

Friday February 14

Valentines day

1147 local

JAG headquarters

Mac flopped down in her chair behind her desk, sighing. She had been so sure that she would win her case hands down, however Sturgis had started an unusual line of questioning that had revealed some rather compelling facts for his side of the case, making Mac's job that much harder. 

She switched on her computer, logged onto her e-mail program, and finding nothing, was about to start work on a brief when she decided to check her personal mailbox. She and Harm had both created their own private e-mail addresses shortly after she had married so that they could keep in contact with each other and they had both chosen the others' e-mail address. She was delighted to find she had two new messages in her inbox.

She clicked open the fist one and grinned when she saw what he had sent her. 

TO: deadcowninjagirl@freemail.com

FROM: rabb-itfoodflyboy@freemail.com

SUBJECT: Fancy some dinner with a sailor?

Sarah,

I'll pick you up from your place at 1730 *exactly* tonight. I've arranged for Mrs Phelps to take care of Ali until tomorrow morning, so all you have to do is drop her there once I've arrived (I'd like to say hi to her first). Wear something fancy and be prepared to be treated to a wonderful night of dinner and dancing - you deserve to enjoy yourself.

Love you (it feels so great to be able to say that!)

Harm

Mac smiled softly at the thought of her flyboy - and yes, he was _hers_ now. She saved the message then clicked open the second message, the cryptic subject line giving her not a clue as to what it was about.

TO: deadcowninjagirl@freemail.com

FROM: rabb-itfoodflyboy@freemail.com

SUBJECT: Go to...

....Tiner's desk

Mac stared quizzically at the strange e-mail, shrugged her shoulders and, after shutting down her mail program, went to visit Tiner's desk. Tiner saw her approaching and stood immediately at attention.

"Ma'am, there was a delivery for you while you were in court. I took the liberty of signing for it.... I hope that's okay?" he asked nervously, fidgeting slightly. 

"Of course it is, Tiner. What was it they delivered?" 

"These ma'am. They arrived at around 0900 while your were in court." Tiner disappeared under the desk for a moment and appeared a moment later holding a huge bouquet of roses of all different colours. Mac's eyes almost popped out of her head when she saw them. Before she even had a chance to say anything, Tiner disappeared beneath the desk once more and emerged this time with a box containing a dozen long stemmed red roses. Inside the box, along with all the red roses, was a single white rose, its stem entwined with one of the red ones. 

"These ones were delivered only about 10 minutes ago but I didn't want to disturb you because you were in a client meeting."

"Oh my goodness." was about all she could say. "Er, thankyou Petty Officer."

With that, she grabbed her many roses and hurried back into her office, shutting the door behind her. Placing the flowers on her desk, she grabbed the envelope that was taped to the top of the rose box and ripped it open eagerly, as a child would a birthday present. Inside were two cards, one small and one large. She opened the small card first and was disappointed to see that her roses were from a "secret admirer". Her spirits rose, however, when she opened the second card to find that it was from Harm. She wondered vaguely why he had sent her two cards, but overlooked that fact as she read his card.

__

To my Sarah,

You mean the world to me and I want to prove it to you. For each colour of rose there is a corresponding meaning. 

The white roses represent innocence and purity - how I see you. To me you are like a beautiful angel straight form heaven. 

The yellow is for friendship - you are and will always be my best friend. You've stuck by me no matter what and I am thankful for our friendship.

Peach is modesty - something you, my darling, have plenty of and I could do with some more of

Light pink is Joy - what I feel every time I am around you

Dark pink is for thankfulness - Sarah, I am so thankful that I have you in my life, you have no idea how much you mean to me

Orange represents fascination - and boy, do you fascinate me

The coral ones are for desire - just one look at you...

Lavender is Enchantment - and most enchanting you are

I love you Sarah Mackenzie, don't you ever forget it.

Harm

PS. People are sure to wonder about your flowers, especially a certain blonde matchmaker, so you can just show them the other card. Aren't I clever? *see me grin, marine*

Mac couldn't believe it. Surely Harm had never done anything like this for Renee or Jordan. What made her so special? Not that she was complaining, of course. Still wondering at he flyboy, she picked up the card attached to the box of red roses and opened it up.

__

Hey there again, Beautiful 

__

You may have noticed that there were not red roses in the last lot I send you, so I decided to send them separately. As with all the other roses, these red ones have a meaning too. Red roses represent love and I'm sending them to you to show you how much I love you. 

Last of all, the Red one entwined with the White one represents unity, something that, although we already have to an extent, I hope can be more some day.

Love you forever Sarah,

Yours always,

Harm

Mac read through his letter, overwhelmed with emotion. Never could she remember feeling so loved and special - no one had ever done anything so sweet and romantic for her in her life. 

"Well hello, sweetheart."

Mac looked up to see her best friend, now boyfriend, standing in her doorway.

"Hey there stranger." She smiled fondly at him. "Come in and shut the blinds."

Harm complied and the second the blinds were shut she grabbed him and pulled him down to her, kissing him passionately. 

"Thankyou.....thankyou.....thankyou...." she murmured in between kisses. She could feel him smiling against her mouth and pulled him closer, heat rushing through her. Harm was a little surprised that she was kissing him, especially seeing as they had agreed to keep their relationship quiet and out of the office for the time being. Still, he wasn't about to complain about being kissed by Sarah Mackenzie, and he returned the favour with equal enthusiasm. 

"I take it you liked the roses?" he inquired smugly, looking rather pleased with himself. Instead of giving him a quick witty comeback like he had expected, he got a heartfelt smile in return. 

"Yes I did. Thankyou so much Harm. This has to be the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me. These are probably more roses than I've ever received in my entire life. 

"Really?" Harm looked genuinely surprised at this fact, not able to work out why so few had sent roses to the beautiful woman standing in front of him. 

"What about Rob? Surely he gave you roses?" Harm blurted out before he realised what he was saying. The moment the words were out of his mouth he wished he could take them back, especially when he saw the look of pain that flashed across Mac's face. 

__

Stupid, stupid, STUPID, Rabb! he mentally kicked himself, wondering why he always had to say just the wrong thing. _ Open mouth, insert foot _

"Oh Sarah, I'm so sorry." he exclaimed, feeling awful. Mac shook her head, dismissing his apology.

"Don't be. You only said what we were both thinking." Harm took her into his arms.

"Maybe, but I'm still sorry I brought it up. I guess its still kind of hard sometimes." 

Mac shrugged. "To be honest, it really doesn't bother me that much any more, especially since I have you around. If Rob had been a great husband who had died, then it would probably be difficult, but Rob, no way has it been hard. Relief yes, freedom yes, reprieve yes, hard - no. Besides, I have a sexy new boyfriend who's taking wonderful care of me."

Harm grinned impishly and was about to kiss her again when a knock at the door startled them both. Mac hurriedly wiped the lipstick smudges off Harm's lips before shouting "enter" and grabbing a file off her desk, making it look as though she was busy. She also made sure to check that she knew what the file contained, remembering an embarrassing situation in which she had no idea about what was in the file she had been pretending to read. 

"Ma'am, I was just wondering -" Harriet came bustling in and stopped short as she caught sight of the many roses adorning Mac's desk. She looked from Mac to the roses, to Harm, back to the roses and back to Mac again. Both Harm and Mac suppressed grins as they could practically see the wheels turning in Harriet's hopelessly romantic mind. 

"Wow." she said, her eyes wide "lovely roses, ma'am. Who are they from? That is, if you don't mind my asking." Harriet continued to look suspiciously at Harm, neither him nor Mac missing the look of hope that appeared on Harriet's cheery face. 

"Actually, there's a card with it. Its from a 'secret admirer'. Do you want to have a look?" she held out the card that Harm had sent along with the flowers, written specifically for the purpose of keeping people who always read too much into their relationship, namely Harriet, from finding out that they were an item.

"To Sarah." Harriet read out loud. "You are a very special person and I think you're very beautiful. Happy Valentines day, and enjoy your flowers. With Love, a secret Admirer."

Harriet looked up from the card, excitement shining in her eyes. "Ooh, a secret admirer, ma'am? Do you have any idea who it might be?"

Mac shook her head. "I can't think of anyone who might have sent me all those flowers." _although I can think of someone who I _know_ sent the flowers to me. _she added silently. Harriet just smiled and gave a dismissive shrug, looking the slightest bit disappointed.

"Oh well, I'm sure you'll find out eventually."

"I'm sure I will. Now what was it you wanted, Lieutenant?"

"Oh, I just wanted to know if you had the files from the Hudson case."

"Sure thing." Mac rummaged around on her desk for the file then handed it to Harriet, dismissing her. 

"You, it was pretty risky you sending me flowers at work, especially so many of them." Mac told Harm after Harriet had left, reopening the blinds so as not to raise any suspicions. 

"I know that, but I wanted to do something extra nice for you, to let you know how much you're loved and appreciated."

Mac grinned at his statement, a warm feeling settling over her. It felt so good, and so right, to be loved by Harmon Rabb.

"So are we on for tonight?" Harm asked her.

"Well actually, I uh....kind of already had plans for tonight." she found it difficult to stop herself from laughing as his face fell. Honestly and truly, for someone so intelligent, Harm could be incredibly thick sometimes.

"You...you do?" he sounded so upset and defeated that Mac decided against teasing him any further. 

"Yeah. You see, this sexy Navy Lawyer asked me out on a date and I as hard as I tried, I just couldn't refuse his offer."

Harm, finally catching on to the fact that she had been pulling his leg, breathed a sigh of relief and teased her back.

"Really? You mean he finally asked you out?"

"Uh huh. Sent me roses and everything. Don't know why it took him so long, though. He waited - literally - for years before telling me how he felt."

"I'm sure he regrets that it took him so long, though." Harm told her, looking imploringly into her eyes. Mac smiled understandingly at him.

"I do have to say, though," Harm added, his demeanour turning from serious to joking again. "I never thought he'd actually say it. Who would have thought Sturgis had it in him?" Harm quirked his eyebrows at Mac as he said this and she burst out laughing, drawing a few glances from various people around the bullpen. 

"You don't take anything seriously, do you?" she demanded, her hands going to her hips. 

"Nope." He replied. Mac shook her head.

"Get out of here." she laughed, giving him a shove out the door and into the bullpen. 

"Aye aye, Ma'am." he said before whispering to her: "pick you up at 1730." and walking off. 

Harriet, who had gone back to her desk, watched their interactions carefully. So far, they appeared to be acting normally, but Harriet was sure that the Commander had something to do with the Colonel's roses and she was determined to find out what. Besides that, the Colonel had looked delighted at the roses, not puzzled as most people would. Not to mention that she was usually a lot more suspicious over things like this, and after her stalking a few years ago, who could blame her? No, something was definitely going on. The questions was, what?

1725 local

Mac's apartment 

Mac rushed frantically about her apartment getting ready for her date with Harm. She grumbled in frustration as she almost tripped over Ali, who was doing absolutely nothing but getting in the way. Mac was just putting on her shoes when she heard a knock at the door. Consulting her internal clock, she realised that he was actually a few minutes early. 

"I see you're early again." she commented as she opened the door, revealing one very handsome looking flyboy waiting on the other side, wearing a stylishly cut suit and an irresistible smile.

"Wow." said Mac, glad that she was finally glad to express her opinion out loud, even if it was only to him. "You look good enough to eat, not to mention incredible sexy."

Harm said nothing but just gaped at the woman before him. Mac was wearing a deep burgundy dress that fell to just below her knees and clung spectacularly to the curves of her body. It had thin spaghetti straps to hold it in place and the rich colour complemented her olive skin beautifully. He noted with joy that she was wearing the necklace he had given her for Christmas, noticing as well how low the neckline of her dress was cut. Her shoes were black strappy heels which completed her outfit. Once he was done ogling at her outfit, Harm moved his eyes to her face. She had arranged her hair with some clips so that the majority was pulled back out off her face, with a few wispy strands left hanging out, artistically framing her face. Her makeup was light and simple, not plastering her face the way some women did, with a deep red colour applied to her lips. 

"Um, hello? Earth to Harm." Mac snapped her fingers in front of Harm's face, bringing his thoughts back from wherever they had just been. 

"Wha - ?" Harm jumped at Mac's sudden hand movement, looking automatically around himself. Mac simply stood there, laughing at her Flyboy's expense. 

"Hey, what's so funny, Jarhead?" he demanded. 

"You are." she giggled. "You're just so- mmph" What Harm was so, he never found out, because after his lips touched hers, Mac seemed to forget about what she was saying. Harm broke their kiss after a minute and placed a quick affectionate kiss on the tip of her nose before pulling her back into her apartment. 

"Unca Harm!" A joyous shout was heard from the corner of the room the moment Harm entered the apartment. Grinning, Harm held out his arms and into them ploughed an enthusiastic two year old. 

"Hiya Ali." Harm picked her up and swung her around, making her squeal with delight. "How's my favourite little girl going?" he asked her, setting her back on her feet. 

"Not little." she protested. "I big. I nearly thwee!" to emphasise her point, she held up four chubby little fingers to Harm. The two adults laughed at Ali's counting abilities, or rather, lack thereof. 

"Alright then, how's my favourite big girl, and is she ready to go to Mrs Phelps?"

"Cookies?" 

"Yes, you can have cookies."

"Yay." Ali put her barbie backpack on her back then grabbed Mac's hand and began pulling her towards the door. "I want cookies!"

Mac took Ali across the hallway and knocked on the door of Mrs Phelps' apartment. The door swung open the two women exchanged a few words before Mac handed Ali over. Harm watched them from the door of Mac's apartment, completely unaware of what the two women were saying.

"You've got yourself a nice looking man there, Mac." 

Mac grinned "Yeah, I know. He's not just good looking though. He has to be the nicest man I've ever met, my ex-husband included."

"Wow, he must be wonderful. I still remember how you were gushing about your fiance when you moved out last time. It's just a shame it couldn't last."

Mac shrugged. "I could agree with you, but I'm actually pretty happy with the way things turned out. True, I had to go through a year of marriage problems and I have a divorce still waiting to be processed, but I also have a beautiful little girl and to tell the truth, now that I'm dating Harm, although we can't tell anyone else yet, I'm happier than I've been in years."

"Well good for you Mac. Now go and have fun on your date, and I'm not sure if Harm has told you but he arranged for me to keep Ali until tomorrow. And before you say anything, no, he wasn't being presumptuous, he just didn't want to have to wake Ali up if you two came home late."

"Ah, that sounds like Harm. Always thoughtful of everyone else."

"Go on now, Mac. Go and enjoy yourself with that thoughtful sailor of yours."

"Don't worry, I will. Thankyou again for doing this."

"Really, its not a problem. Now shoo." Mac gave Ali a quick kiss goodnight and Mrs Phelps closed the door behind her. 

2030 local

Chantinelli's restaurant 

Mac leaned back in her chair and sighed in contentment, feeling happy and at peace with the world. The food had been great, the setting was wonderfully romantic and there was no one but her and Harm. Her smile widened as she looked at the man opposite her finishing the last few bites of his desert. He had done all of this for her and had even gone to the trouble to have a bottle of Maison - a non-alcoholic wine - waiting on the tablefor them. 

"Hey Mac, what would you say to some dancing?" Harm asked her as the waiter cleared away their dishes. 

"Where?" Mac asked. She didn't know of any place nearby where they could go to dance. Harm pointed to a set of double doors across the room. 

"Right here. If you eat here you get to go dancing afterwards." He shrugged. "I just thought you might enjoy it." 

Mac grinned at him. "Of course I'll go dancing with you. I'd love to."

"Great." He paid the bill for their food then the waiter lead them over to the double doors. The doors opened to reveal a gorgeous looking ballroom full of couples dancing away. Mac gazed at it in wonder.

"It's incredible." 

"That it is. Now let's join in the fun." Harm bowed low and offered Mac his arm. "Madame, may I have this dance?"

Mac giggled. "But of course, Monsieur." 

Harm placed one hand on her shoulder, the other on her hip, and off they went, dancing away, twirling about to a lively waltz. They danced for hours, enjoying each others' company and the opportunity to be able to finally get out on their own without having to worry about picking up Ali, or being at client meetings the next day or who might notice the fact that they were both tired and put two and two together. Tonight it was just Harm and Mac, dancing and enjoying Valentines day, a celebration of love. 

Finally, at around 2am, they decided to call it a night and have one last dance before heading home. The music came on and they swayed slowly to the rhythm, content to be held by each other. Mac wrapped her arms around Harm's waist and laid her head on his chest, Harm held her close, laying his head gently on hers. The song finished and Harm kissed Mac gently and lead her out to the car. 

Mac was so tired by the time they reached her apartment that Harm actually carried her up her stairs to save her the effort, despite her sleepy protests. He set her down, took her key from her purse,and opened the door for her. 

"Do you want to come in for some coffee, Harm?" Mac suggested, not wanting the night to end. 

"As much as I'd love to, Sarah, I know that if I came in for coffee then I'd be tempted not leave at all." Harm declined her offer ruefully. Mac nodded in agreement, knowing that what he was saying was all too true. If Harm came in for coffee then they would no doubt end up doing a lot more than drinking coffee.

"Good night and sweet dreams, Sarah." 

Mac smiled at him. "Thanks for a wonderful night, Harm. I can't remember the last time I enjoyed myself so much." 

"It was my pleasure. Now go to bed before I have to carry you there too."

Mac poked her tongue out at him, making Harm chuckle quietly. 

"I'll see you tomorrow, okay ninjagirl?"

"Sure thing."

Harm bent down and placed what was intended to be a soft goodbye kiss on her lips. Within seconds, however, it had grown out of control and had turned into a kiss of full passion, with the two of them pulling each other closer with their hands and lips. Pretty soon Mac was backed up against the wall and it took her all the control she had (and some she didn't), to break the kiss. She and Harm stood staring at each other, their breathing heavy, their gazes now moving from each others' eyes, both longing to go further but both knowing the timing wasn't right. 

By an unspoken agreement, they wanted to wait, take it slow, get it right this time. Besides which, Mac was still technically married. Still, despite all the obstacles, they were doing well and both were happier than they had been in a long time. 

Harm gave Mac one last quick kiss before leaving and smiled softly at her.

"Goodnight Sarah. I love you."

"I love you too." 

Harm waited until he heard the deadbolt on her door click before heading downstairs and out to his car. He sat for a moment contemplating the turn his life had taken since Mac's return. True, it had been harder in some ways, having her around again, but ever since finally admitting to her how much he loved her, his life had taken a turn for the better. He was finally living the life he had dreamed of for the last eight years. A life with Sarah. 

A/N: Whoa, that was a loooooooong chapter…. so you'd all better write looooooong reviews to go with it *grins*. 


	12. Someone's birthday

****

Chapter 12

Home is where your best friend is

Monday 1342  
JAG headquarters

Harm and Mac sat outside in the cafeteria eating their lunches and chatting casually about work, their lives, Ali and anything at all. Harm was just about to take a bite of his salad when they heard a familiar voice.

"Excuse me, sir, ma'am."

"Hi Harriet. Have a seat." Mac greeted the blonde lieutenant. 

"No thanks, ma'am, I'm off to meet Bud. I was just wondering if you two were planning on coming to AJ's fifth birthday party next weekend. I know that he'd love for the two of you to come."

"Wow." said Mac "Is it May already? I can't believe I've already been back for six months."

"It's amazing how quickly time goes by, isn't it." Harriet commented. "I mean, it seems that it was just yesterday that AJ was still one." she smiled, remembering little AJ as a baby. "So, are you two going to come?"

"Of course!" Mac told her happily. "We'd love to. Wouldn't miss our godson's birthday for the world." Harm nodded in agreement. 

"Great." Harriet bubbled, already excited about her son's birthday party. "I'll see you Saturday**.** The party starts at 1100, but if you want to come around half an hour or soearly to see AJ beforehand, then that's fine by me."

"We'd love to come early. How about we drop by around 0900 to help you set everything up."

"Oh no, I couldn't ask you to do that." Harriet told them.

"You didn't ask, we're offering." Mac and Harm both argued simultaneously. Harriet smiled to herself and shrugged, grinning at them.

"Well, if you're sure. In that case I'll see you at 0900 Saturday morning."

"Bye Harriet."

"Wow" said Harm once Harriet was gone. "I can't believe that AJ's already turning five. He's growing up so quickly."

"I know. Just like I can't believe how fast _my _beautiful baby's growing up." 

Both of them sat in a companionable silence, munching away at their lunches, their thoughts heading along very similar tracks. 

__

I wonder if he even remembers our deal

//She's probably forgotten about it by now. Either that or she's not going to mention it seeing as she's already got Ali.//

I really hope that he brings it up at the party. After all, that deal wasn't just about a baby, it was about him. I wanted him so much....still do. Just look at him sitting there, staring off into space. How does he manage to look so damn sexy even when he's not doing anything. Oh, what I would like to do......NO, don't got there Mackenzie. Still in JAG headquarters....

//She's so beautiful, sitting there like that, a smile on her lips. Oh, those lips....... Don't go there, Rabb. You're still at work....//

I can't wait...

//...till we get home//

// *SIGH* //

Without any spoken words needed, the two of them picked up their lunch things and headed back inside to their offices. 

Friday, 1832  
Mac's apartment

Mac slid the keys into the lock of the front door and leaned against it to push it open. Harm was standing behind her and both were laden down with groceries. Ali tagged along behind them with a large rag doll in her hands. Many a time had Mac attempted to get rid of the doll Ali now had with her, however Ali had formed an emotional attachment to it and cried whenever Mac had tried to take it away from her. Rob had once suggested that she just take it away from her when she wasn't looking, and she would eventually forget about it, but Mac didn't have the heart to do something like that, so the grubby doll stayed. 

The groceries were dumped onto the kitchen counter,and Mac took Ali off to have her bath, while Harm made a start on the groceries. Even though Mac had only been back in DC for about 6 months, Harm already knew his way around her new apartment as well as he did his own. Harm had no objection to helping Mac put her groceries and things away – he had been doing little things like that a lot since her return. With a very active two year old in the house Harm's favourite Marine Colonel seemed to have a lot less spare time on her hands. Little things such as Harm picking Ali up from daycare when Mac had a client meeting, or helping Macwith her shopping, were thingsthey didn't even think twice about. They had grown incredibly close in the 6 months that Mac had been back. Closer even than they had been before Mac had left.Now the two of them were secretly dating, trying to find a way around the rules that had kept them from getting close all those years ago. 

"Hey Harm, can you grab my mail for me?" Mac shouted to him from Ali's bedroom where she was now attempting to get a two year old with her sense of stubbornness to put on a pair of pyjamas. 

"Sure thing"

Harm finished putting away Mac's groceries and went to retrieve her mail for her. He flicked through it to see if there was anything much of interest for her reading out what each letter was.

"Nothing interesting looking here, Mac. Water bill, gas bill, lighting bill.... hey, here's something interesting. It just says: 'Mackenzie' and then has your address on it. It'shandwritten, No return address. Could be anything."

Within seconds Mac came rushing out of Ali's room and tore the letter form Harm's grasp and started to rip it open.

"Whoa, slow down. I presume you're expecting something?"

"No, you think?" came her sarcastic retort. Harm just shrugged and decided to let her finish opening he letter first. 

Mac finished opening the envelope and slowed her pace, carefully pulling the sheets of paper out of it and inspecting them carefully. The look on her face as she read the papers was something that Harm would have paid to see – it was a look of sheer delight, like a child who had just been told that she could have anything she wanted from a sweet shop. 

"What is it?"

"I, Sarah Mackenzie, am now _officially _divorced, with a whole heap of assets to my name, full custody of my beautiful daughter and free to do what I please!"

Harm let out a cheer and picked her up and swung her around, before setting her down and planting a kiss on her lips. 

"You know what Mac? I am so happy for you. You deserve to be happy, and I promise that I will do everything in my power to make your life as enjoyable as possible."

"Oh, you're so sweet Harm. Tell me, why didn't you ever show me this sweet side when I used to live here?"

"Cos, you would have teased me terribly for it and you know it."

"Quite true." She conceded.

"But, you are now my girlfriend, so I'm allowed to be as sweet and nice toward you as I like."

"Mmmm, Harmon Rabb's girlfriend. I still can't get over how lucky I am to have you. I'm still amazed at the fact that we've managed to hide it for this long."

"I know. Three months yesterday."

"Speaking of which, I know I already said it, but thankyou so much for everything you did yesterday, Harm. I really appreciated it"

Both of them smiled in recollection of the events of the previous night. Harm had made reservations at their favourite restaurant and treated Mac to a delicious lobster dinner, followed by a few hours of dancing and chocolate cake for desert in Harm's 'vette while they watched the drive in movie. The night had been wonderful, and they had both woken up rather content the next morning. Rumors fluttered around the office as to why the two senior officers were so cheerful, considering that it was Monday morning and they were still smiling, even after a meeting with the Admiral. Of course, as soon as the Admiral got word of the rumours (the majority of which involved the two of them "hot bunking") he of course asked them into his office to confront them**.** Being as perceptive as he was, he deliberately didn't ask about their personal relationship, only about the rumours. After all, they were all a big fan of the policy "don't ask, don't tell". So the Admiral didn't ask, and they didn't have to tell.....yet. They were pretty sure that the Admiral had his suspicions, but apart from him, no one, not even Harriet, had any idea about them.

With the arrival of the divorce papers, Harm decided that a bit of a celebration was in order, and he decided that he would make Mac's favourite dinner – steak. With Harm and her now spending so much time, whenever Mac bought steak to put in her freezer, she also bought some veggie burgers at the same time, and vice versa. So whenever they were at each other's houses (which was fairly frequently) then they both had something they actually liked to eat. 

Dinner was an interesting affair, with Ali trying to do a repeat of her spaghetti incident. Mac used a damp cloth to clean up her daughter's messy face and smiled as she recalled what had happened the last time Ali had gotten messy like that. Harm also seemed to recall that incident and Mac looked up from wiping Ali's face to see Harm staring at her. Well, her chest at least. When he realised that he had been caught staring, he grinned sheepishly expecting to be teased. Instead, all he got form her was a seductive smile.

When Mac was putting Ali to bed after dinner Ali, as she often did, asked for "Unca Harm" to come in and kiss her goodnight too. Tonight, however, when he came in she asked him, solemn as anything, what a divorce was.

"Where'd you hear that word, pumpkin?" He asked her, already knowing the answer. 

"Mamma said it. She said it was 'bout daddy" 

"That's right. It means that your mamma's not married to your daddy any more."

"Is he still my daddy?"

"Yes. He will always be your daddy, he just doesn't live with your mamma, that's all." Harm explained, wondering how much Mac wanted her child to know. 

"Oh." Ali sat in her bed frowning for a few moments, obviously pondering something. "So he won't really be like a daddy if he isn't here, will he?" Harm marvelled at the intelligence of this two, nearly three year old. He didn't think that he'd ever met a young child so smart. Before he had time to think of an answer to give her, Ali started talking again.

"Unca Harm, will you be my new daddy?"

Harm, who couldn't have seen this coming a mile off, was taken by surprise. No doubt about her being Mac's daughter though. "Maybe some day, sweetie pie. Maybe some day."

"Really?" Ali started to get excited at the prospect of having Harm as a father, and bounced up and down in her bed. 

"Shhh." Harm quickly silenced her before Mac could come in and see what was going on. He put his finger up to his lips and Ali did the same. "It's a secret, okay? It can be our little secret, how does that sound?"

Ali's eyes grew wide at the concept of having her very own secret to share with Harm and she nodded solemnly, determined to keep their secret. Harm gave her a goodnight kiss and tucked her back in, then went to go and find Mac. He thought about what Ali had said, and his answer to her questions about him being her father. What he had said about maybe being her father one day he really did mean. He had every intention of proposing to Mac, as soon as they were both ready for it. Hell, he had intended on proposing to her after about a year of knowing her, and yet he was only now getting around to it. A year ago he would still have been kicking himself for letting her go. Now, however,he was concentrating on looking forwards and not thinking about mistakes he had made in the past.Not to mention thanking God every few moments that he could finally have the beautiful woman called Sarah Mackenzie in his life, and for good if he had anything to say about it. 

Saturday, 0900  
Roberts Residence 

"Hi Harriet, we're here." Mac called through the ajar front door, opening it fully and admitting herself and Harm.

"Hi Mac." came the shouted reply. "I'm in the kitchen. Come right in. AJ honey." she called to her son "come and greet your Uncle Harm and your Auntie Mac."

"Uncle Harm, Auntie Mac. Uncle Harm, Auntie Mac." He shouted, the now five-year-old whirlwind rushed to greet them. 

"Hey buddy" Harm exclaimed picking him up and seating him on his shoulders. 

"Airplane, airplane!" AJ shouted to Harm, who complied with the boy's request and started zooming the birthday boy around the room, making him squeal with delight. While the boys were playing "airplanes" Mac wandered through into the kitchen to greet Harriet. She stopped short as she entered the kitchen and saw the spectacular birthday cake that Harriet had made for her son. It was nothing short of incredible. 

1140 local  
Roberts' Backyard

"Hey Auntie Mac, look what I got!" AJ Roberts came running over to Mac and held out the new toy he had just unwrapped. 

"Wow, that's pretty neat. Who gave you that one kiddo?"

"Uncle AJ." Mac smiled at the idea of her CO in a toy shop trying to pick out something for his five year old namesake and surrogate grandson. 

"Pick me up, Auntie Mac." He demanded in the oldest sounding voice he could manage. "I want a cuddle!" Mac bent down and picked her Godson up, pretending to groan at his weight. 

"Ugh, you're like a little elephant, only not quite so grey." AJ giggled and started making elephant noises, waving his arm about as if it were a trunk.

Mac watched her Godson play contentedly in her arms for a few moments before she sensed someone watching her. She felt suddenly cold and looked up to find herself looking directly into the eyes of her drunken ex-husband. She hid her shock at seeing him and resolved to remain civil, but did not go so far as to offer him a smile. 

"What are you doing here, Robert?" she fought the urge to say the words harshly, however it was obvious he was drunk - she could smell the alcohol on his breath - and she wanted to prevent this... confrontation from turning into a fight. 

"I made a mistake, Sarah. Come back to me, please." He implored, slurring the words slightly. 

"You need to leave. Now. I am no longer your wife and this is not the time or place to discuss it. Please don't make me call the police." No matter what her feelings for Robert were or might have been, little AJ's birthday party was no place for a drunken ex husband. 

"This is about that lover boy of yours, isn't it?." Mac narrowed her eyes and glared at him. 

"Get out of here, Robert." Mac's voice was cold and full of venom as she annunciated every word cleanly, leaving him no room for misinterpretation, even in his drunken state. Unfortunately for him, he had forgotten, or rather chosen to forget, his last encounter with a thoroughly infuriated Sarah Mackenzie. 

"What's wrong, Slut? Can't handle the truth?"

"AJ honey, why don't you go and show your uncle Harm your new toy. I'm sure he'd love to see it." Mac decided that it was best if AJ wasn't there while she attempted to talk some sense into Rob and set him down back on the ground. 

"Okay then." The five year old replied cheerfully, not aware of what was going on between the two adults above him. "Hey Auntie Mac, can I see your scarf? It's all pretty." AJ was pointing to the brightly coloured scarf wound around Mac's neck.

"Sure thingbuddy, here you go. Now go and play with your Uncle Harm." Preoccupied with everything else that was going on, Mac momentarily forgot that there was a particular reason she had put on the scarf, and handed it to AJ, who took off in search of Harm. 

With AJ gone, Mac turned back to face Rob and, in doing so, also allowed him to see the now exposed leftside of her neck. Rob's eyes grew wide and Mac suddenly remembered why she had worn the scarf in the first place. Her hand flew up to hide the rather obvious reddish purple mark on the side of her neck. Rob's demeanour turned from nasty to angry in less than a second and the fight began. 

"No lover boy, huh?" He hissed malevolently. "In that case, where'd you get the hickey? Last time I checked you couldn't do those kinds of things to yourself."

"It's none of your business, Rob. You need to leave." Mac felt as though her composure was slipping, however, ever the lawyer, she did her best to not let it show. If this fight was going to get dirty then she didn't want him to think he was intimidating her. 

"On the contrary, it's entirely my business. You never let _me _do something like that to you Sarah. You always maintained that 'someone might see it' or gave some other lame excuse. And yet, here you are letting that lover boy of yours do to you whatever he pleases. For God's sake, Sarah, I was your _husband _and you still shut me out of your life at times. Dammit Sarah, you were ashamed of me." 

Mac's resolve weakened as she started to see a passionate side of her ex-husband she had never seen before, as she started to see it from his perspective. Her eyes filled with tears as she realised the pain she must have caused him. When she had come back home to DC after leaving him she had allowed herself to get caught up in all the bad things he had done. She had forgotten to remind herself that he too was a human being with feelings and emotions, just like she was. Yes, it often seemed like he didn't care for her, and he frequently got drunk around her with seemingly no respect for her alcoholism, but beneath it all was someone who was still in love with her. With that realisation, Mac allowed her emotions to show and lowered her gaze to the ground, a tear slipping down her cheek. After a moment or two she looked back up at him, her shoulders squared. 

"No, I wasn't." she told him quietly. 

"Wasn't what?" 

"I wasn't ashamed of you. I was proud of you and I was proud to have a daughter with you but... you changed. I waited and waited for the man I married to come back. I thought that maybe my being pregnant was wearing on you and that it would be okay once Ali was born, but it wasn't. You just got further and further away, and one day, I got tired of waiting. The old you wasn't coming back and I had to accept that and move on." Mac brushed the unshed tears from her eyes and looked up to see his reaction.

"Yeah, and the moment you got back you went back to your old boyfriend... or were you seeing him the whole time we were married. You know, I still can't get a straight story about that one." His comment cut at her like a knife driving straight into her chest. After all this time, after what he just said, he still didn't believe that she had remained loyal to him. 

"I _never_cheated on you, alright?" she was so angry at him that she had to fight to keep the volume of her voice below shouting level. This was AJ's day and there was no way that she would allow herself to ruin it by having a fight with her ex-husband. 

"Then how do you explain the fact that she looks _nothing_ like me, huh?"

"But she does." Mac argued. "Look at her hair, its auburn. The brown came from me, but where do you think the red in it came from? And the curls. Does my hair look curly to you?"

Rob shrugged. "You said it used to be when you were a kid, so it makes sense that hers would be."

"You know, I'm really starting to wonder what I saw in you and why on earth I married you." 

"You'll pay for that one, Sarah." 

~~~

AJ dawdled along trying to find his Godfather in the mass of people congregated in the Roberts' backyard.He stopped for a few minutes to grab a handful of chips before continuing his search for Harm. He found him a few minutes later playing with some of the other children in the sandpit. 

"Hey Uncle Harm, look what I got." AJ enthusiastically showed Harm his new toy, pointing out things here and there that he particularly liked. 

"Hey AJ, buddy, isn't that your Auntie Mac's scarf?" AJ nodded an affirmative.

"She said I could look at it. She's talking to a strange man. He smells funny and I don't think he's very nice."

"Who was it, AJ? Did she mention his name?" 

"Umm, I can't remember. But they were standing near the lemon tree in the corner." 

Harm stood and looked over at the corner of the Roberts' yard and blanched when he saw who Mac was talking to. He checked that AJ was playing happily in the sandpit then looked up again in time to see Robert Casey's fist flying in the direction of Mac's face. 

A/N: Woot, I FINALLY updated!! You know the drill peoples, the more you review the happier I get and the faster I write. And of course, thanks heaps to my really cool beta reader Chris. 


	13. One Angry Marine

****

Chapter 13

Home is where your best friend is

Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed, your encouragement was wonderful. So good, in fact that I decided to finish chapter 13 today instead of doing my history assessment...so if I fail my school certificate I can just blame all of you. **:**D Congratulations go to aserene who was the 200th reviewer of this story!! Woot! A box of chocolate brownies is being shipped expressly over to the US in its own self refrigerating envelope **:**D And now....onto the story.

Roberts' Backyard,  
Where we left off

Mac, trained in various types of hand to hand combat, knew what Rob was planning to do almost before he did. She could see the subtle shift in his balance and prepared to defend herself against his imminent attack. Sure enough, his fist suddenly came flying toward her face. With amazingly quick reflexes, she grabbed his arm at the same time she ducked....ahem, took cover.... so that the force was completely absorbed by her movement. Before Rob had time to think, she twisted herself about and half a second later he found himself with both his arms pinned rather painfully behind his back by an uncharacteristically strong female marine, who was _very_ mad. Still holding his arms behind him, she spoke softly into his ear from behind. 

"Try that again and you'll find yourself in a hell of a lot more pain."

"Mac!" She looked over Rob's shoulder in time to see Harm running towards her. Harm glared coldly at the man being restrained by his best friend. 

"What are you doing here, Casey?" 

"Ah, the infamous Rabb." Rob spat back at Harm. "Been enjoying screwing my wife, have you?" 

Mac twisted his arm further behind his back, causing him to grunt in pain. 

"Oops." She said unconvincingly. 

By this time several of the adults had noticed what was going on and were looking onto the scene, keeping their distance and making sure the children didn't get too close. 

  
"What's going on Mac?" Harriet asked, concerned as to why a man was in her backyard with his arms pinned behind his back by a certain marine colonel. Recognition showed in her eyes as she realised who it was.

"Is that..." 

"Yes Harriet, this is my ex-husband. Now Rob I'm sure you remember Harriet. Her son's having his birthday party today and you weren't invited. So what do you say to her?" 

"Keep outta other people's business, stupid blonde."

Harriet, quite unused to being so openly insulted had no idea what to do or say. 

Mac twisted his arm again. "Wrong answer, Robert. Now what's the nice thing that we say to someone when we've done something naughty?" She asked as though she were lecturing a small child, but with a harsh tone of voice. She gave his arms another twist for good measure before he answered.

"I'm sorry." He muttered bitterly, barely glancing at Harriet. 

Mac gave Harriet an apologetic look and, after apologising to everyone else for the disturbance, lead Rob around the side of the house and out the front. Harm trailed behind them to ensure shedidn't get hurt... not that she really needed him there. 

She let go of Rob's arms and was about to give him a shove onto the footpath when he caught her off guard and swivelled around, delivering a swift blow to her abdomen. Mac gasped at the impact of his fist and reacted by sending a knee into his groin with as much force as she could muster, while at the same time Harm punched him in the nose, breaking it. Needless to say, Rob was effectively incapacitated for the time being.

"Why are you doing this to me Sarah?" He asked between sharp breaths, trying to keep the pain under control. "I came back to you. I came to ask you to come back home."

"Robert, I don't care why the hell you're here or how you found out where we were going to be, but if you think what you just did is somehow going to make me want to remarry you, then you really need to get your head examined. I am _not_ going to go back to LA with you again and there's nothing you can do that would change my mind."

Rob pushed himself to his knees and stood up slowly, still in obvious pain. "Please Sarah." He implored, trying one last time to change her mind. Her answer was to point her finger in the direction of the road. 

"Leave. _Now_." She told him. 

He left, his head hung low in defeat. After a few steps he stopped and turned around to face her again. 

"If you change your mind, I'm staying at the Ibis hotel. Room 116." Mac didn't even acknowledge his information, but turned around and walked back toward the house.

"You alright?" Harm asked her as they entered the house, preferring not to face the rest of the party just yet. Mac nodded and with no further words Harm wrapped his arms around her and held her, offering silent support. He was her friend and would always be there for her, no matter what. Mac grunted in pain as one of his arms touched the spot where Rob had punched her. 

"Let me see that." Harm was concerned, as it took quite a blow to make Mac acknowledge that something hurt. 

Stubborn as ever, Mac shook her head and tried to return to the party. Harm grabbed her arm and lead her into the living room. He sat her down on a chair, admonishing her. Mac pretended to be annoyed by his behaviour, however secretly she was delighted by it. She loved it when Harm's caring protective side came out, even more so when it was directed at her. She allowed him to have a look at the side of her stomach, where a colourful bruise was now forming. Rob may not have been trained in hand-to-hand combat, but he sure packed a hell of a punch and from the looks of it, she was going to be quite uncomfortable when she woke up the next morning. 

Mac utterly refused to let Harm get her an ice pack, maintaining that she was fine, and 10 minutes later they were back outside, apologising for their unexpected guest. Harriet waved off all apologies and soon Rob's visit had been pushed to the back of their minds as they joined back in with the festivities of AJ's fifth birthday party. 

1700 local  
Mac's apartment

The rest of AJ's party had gone without a hitch and, while Rob had been pushed to the backs of their minds, certain other things were foremost in their thoughts. Both Harm and Mac had been thinking almost constantly about the deal they had made five years ago, on the day of AJ's birth. Both remembered it clearly, however both were waiting for the other to bring it up, afraid to mention it, fearing what the other's reaction would be. 

Having gone to AJ's party in Mac's car, Harm went back with Mac to her apartment, the two of them chatting idly about work, politics, their friends and anything else that came to mind. 

"...so I figured that if I couldn't convince him to take the plea bargain then I could at least convince him to..." Mac stopped dead as her apartment door swung open to reveal an unexpected sight. True, Mac's apartment wasn't necessarily always in what one would call a state of tidiness, but this... this was _ridiculous._ Books had been pulled from shelves, cushions from the couches, papers from the desk. There were things strewn all over the apartment as someone had gone through obviously looking for something and not caring what mess he left behind as he did so**. **The worst of it was the filing cabined she kept next to her desk, almost the entire contents of which were scattered all over the floor. Mac groaned and rubbed her temples, feeling a headache coming on. Today was definitely _not _her day. She felt Harm's strong arms wrap around her from behind and she sighed and leaned into him, thankful for the small comfort. 

She pulled out her mobile phone and called the police. There was no question in her mind as to who the offender was and she wanted to make sure he didn't get away with this. Turning up at a party uninvited was one thing, but this was breaking and entering. 

As lawyers, both her and Harm knew better than to enter her apartment before the police had cleared it. 

Looking through the door into her trashed apartment, she spotted the brightly coloured invitation from little AJ sitting on the kitchen counter. 

_So that's how he knew we were at the Roberts'._

"What do you think he was looking for?" Harm asked her. "Rob, I mean. That is, presuming it was Rob."

"Oh, it was him alright. I'm sure of it. As for what he was looking for, I really don't know." Her brow furrowed in though as she tried to think of what he could have possibly been looking for. She shrugged her shoulders and shook her head. "Oh well, I don't think anything's missing. Not that I can really tell with my apartment in this state, but I don't think that Rob's the sort of person to just break in and take my things for the sake of it."

Within 30 minutes the investigators had arrived and started questioning Mac about various things, including whether or not she had any idea who did it. She gave them a photo of Rob and the address of the hotel he was staying at.

Forty seven minutes later the investigators left, telling Mac that they would do their best to catch Rob if the fingerprints matched. Mac had no doubt they would.

Once the officers had left, Mac looked around her apartment in annoyance. She put the cushions back onto the couch then proceeded to collapse onto it with a sigh. This day had just been too emotionally draining for her. Harm told her to rest for a few minutes while he got her some coffee and, too tired to argue, she submitted. Harm returned only a minute later after putting a pot of coffee on to find her fast asleep. Taking a blanked from the floor in front of one of the closets, he carefully covered her up, placing a gentle kiss on her temple. 

"Mamma, Mamma!" Ali came bouncing noisily into the room and Harm quickly quietened her, explaining to her that her Mamma was asleep and that she had to be extra quiet for the moment. 

"But I'm hungry." Ali whined. "I want my dinner." 

"Shhh, I'll get you some dinner in a minute. Come into the kitchen with me and we'll see what you want, okay?"

Ali nodded and followed Harm into the kitchen. 

~~~~~

Later, at around 1950, Mac woke up, slightly disoriented. She groaned as she realised how long she had slept for. 

"Harm." She called, knowing that he wouldn't have left Ali alone while she was sleeping. 

"Right here." Harm appeared at the doorway to the kitchen, smiling. "I was just about to wake you. Dinner's almost ready."

Mac sat up in surprise. For the first time she took a good look around, her eyes growing wide as she surveyed the scene. The books were back on the shelves, the cushions back on the chairs, and the clothes, blankets and towels all back in the closets where they belonged. At least half of her files had been resorted and put back into the filing cabinet, with the remainder of them stacked neatly on the desk waiting to be sorted. Everything was in its correct place and to Mac it seemed that the apartment was tidier now than when she had left it that morning. Last of all, she saw Ali sitting in the corner playing quietly with her dolls, flying them around in the toy plane Harm had given her for Christmas. 

"You.....?!" Mac was at loss for words but her silence spoke volumes. Harm just shrugged and nodded self consciously.

"You were so worn out and looked so tired that I couldn't bear to wake you. Besides, there wasn't much else to do around here, so I figured I might as well make myself useful. If I've put anything in the wrong spot I apologise but I was pretty sure of where everything went."

Mac's eyes strayed to her daughter. "Don't worry." Harm told her, seeing the direction of her gaze. "I fed her well over an hour ago and she's had her bath and is ready for bed. I know it's past her bedtime but she wanted you to kiss her goodnight, so I let her stay up. I hope you don't mind."

"Mind? Harm, you just tidied my entire apartment, fed and bathed my daughter, refiled half my paperwork and cooked dinner all in just 93 minutes while at the same time managing not to wake me up. How could I possibly mind that?" 

Harm shot her a grin and shrugged. "You deserved a break. It was the least I could do."

"Come here." Mac motioned Harm over to the couch and pulled him down and kissed him square on the lips. "Thankyou."

"Anytime, my favourite marine. Now, lets put this pretty little daughter of yours to bed and then we can have some dinner."

Mac gave Harm another kiss and went to get Ali. "Sounds good, Sailor. What's cooking?" 

"Chicken schnitzel for you, tofu burger for me and a communal salad bowl, which we all know you will hardly touch."

Mac laughed and went to put Ali, who by this time was looking _very _sleepy, to bed. 

~~~~~

Harm and Mac were lounging about after dinner, on the couch with cups of coffee, when Harm finally decided to bring up the subject of their baby deal. 

"You know, Mac, today was a pretty important day. Not just because of little AJ, but for us too...although AJ did have something to do with it...." he trailed off, not sure if he should go on or not. Mac, who was half sitting half lying propped up against him, smiled up at him, a hopeful expression crossing her features. 

"You remembered?" she sounded hopeful, like a child wishing for something at Christmas time. 

"Of course I remembered, Mac. How could I not?"

"Well, it _was_ five years ago..."

"True, but I still don't see how I could have forgotten about it."

Mac shrugged. "Well, to you it was just an agreement to cheer up your best friend. You could have easily forgotten about it."

Harm was surprised that she saw it like that. After all, he thought it would have been _her _toforget about it because she had Ali now. "Is that all you thought it was to me, Sarah?"

"Well, yeah."

Harm shook his head. "That's no what it was at all. It was so much more than that. You have to understand, Sarah, that I have loved you for a lot longer than just a few months. I've loved you for _years_ and making that deal with you was my way of telling you how much I loved you, showing you that I could see a future with us together. I realise that you have no need to go through with the deal any more, seeing as you have Ali now, but I still felt that we should talk tonight, work out where we want _us_ to go."

"You...you made that deal because you loved me?" Mac was stunned by his revelation. She shouldn't really have been surprised considering that her reason for accepting his offer was the same as his reason for making it, however the thought had never really occurred to her; she had always assumed that her love for him was unrequited. 

Harm nodded an affirmative and smiled at her. 

"You know Harm, I accepted your offer for exactly the same reason...only it never occurred to me that you might be offering it because you loved me too." She shook her head. "What a pair we make."

Harm laughed and pulled her into his lap, kissing her temple. "You know, we said that we'd go halves on a kid if neither of us was in a serious relationship, but we never discussed the possibility of what might happen if we were in a relationship with each other."

"Too true." Mac pondered the idea for a moment before continuing. "I don't know. I mean, now really isn't the time for me to be getting pregnant again, especially given how fragile things are at the moment, but I would like to think that some day we could have a child of our own."

Harm's eyes lit up and he hugged Mac tightly to him. "Really? You'd really still consider going halves on a kid with me?"

"Of course, sailor, I can't think of anything I'd like more than to be the mother of your children." Mac wasn't sure whether she wanted Harm to notice her slip in saying 'children' or not. On one hand, she might have scared him. On the other hand, she wanted him to know that she was serious about this. "I'm still not getting any younger, you know, and my biological clock is still ticking, despite having Ali." She chuckled weakly, trying to hide her nerves. 

"Then maybe we need to consider making a few things around here more permanent. I really want to do this properly with you Sarah, but there are quite a few obstacles concerning our careers, the first of which will be facing the admiral. I'll have to talk to him before I do anything, but whatever happens, I promise you that I _will_ do this right I really want to make this work with you. Of course, we're always getting out sixes chewed out by the Admiral, so what's new?"

Mac giggled and snuggled into him, as a small child would, terribly pleased at the idea of marrying Harm. After all, he had just _promised_ her that things would become permanent, and he always kept his promises. 

Sunday 0900  
Mac's apartment

Rrrrrring 

Mac was jolted from her sleep by the shrill ringing of the phone on the nightstand beside her. She groaned as she tried to recall the dream she had been having. Such a pleasant dream too, involving a certain Navy commander, a pair of red boxer shorts, a courtroom table and some ducky socks... 

She made a face at herself in the mirror as she reached for the phone. Where on earth her subconscious got these strange ideas from, she would never know, but it was a nice dream all the same. 

"Mackenzie." She mumbled sleepily into the phone, wondering why on earth someone felt the need to call her this early on a Sunday morning. True, she got up quite early each morning to get both herself and Ali ready, but ever since having Ali she had learned to appreciate the opportunity to sleep in on weekends. 

"Sarah, I'm sorry." A sober Rob Casey practically whispered into the phone.

"Rob, is that you?"

Hearing the phone ring from the sofa in the living room, Harm wondered who would be calling at this hour of the morning. When he heard Mac calling Rob's name, he instantly went to her door so he could hear.

"I'm sorry. I thought if I could find the papers you'd still be mine." 

"Rob I can barely hear you. What papers?" Mac was getting frustrated with his nonsensical mumbling.

"The divorce papers. If I could find your copy then you'd still be my wife. I love you Sarah." This time his voice was much stronger.

"It doesn't work that way, the divorce is filed with the courts. The papers are just that – pieces of paper." She had to refrain from laughing at him. The idea that stealing her copy would make the divorce void was ridiculous.

"The police are looking for you." She continued. "They lifted several fingerprints from all over the apartment, some of which I'm sure are yours." 

She could hear Rob breathing on the other end of the phone, but he said nothing.

"You should probably just pack up and go back to LA before they find you and take you in for questioning. Did you hear me?" she asked after not getting any response from her ex- husband.

"I'm sorry. You're right. I…I'll catch the next flight home." Rob sounded like a lost child. It almost made her feel sorry for him. Almost.

"I might as well tell you. I'm requesting a restraining order against you for me and Ali. If you ever change your mind and set foot in DC again, the law will be on my side. And Rob, next time I won't give you the chance to get away." 

The strength in her voice was convicting. Sober, Rob knew she meant business. 

"Thank you Sarah. I'm sorry." He hung up the phone without waiting for her reply.

Mac just stared at the phone for a moment wondering if this were it, if she were finally free of that man.

Harm came closer to the bed and sat beside her. She scooted up close to him and threw her arms around him. 

Harm hugged her to him tightly, sensing that she needed the comfort "are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, I am now." she replied. "Thankyou."

"For what?" 

"For being here, for being you, for everything." She sighed lightly and buried her cheek deeper into Harm's comforting shoulder.

Harm wished he could take away all her pain. He wished there was more he could do. At least there were some things he could take care of. He needed to talk to the admiral.


End file.
